U.S. patent application number 15/395256 was filed with the patent office on 2018-03-15 for attribute modification tools for mixed reality.
The applicant listed for this patent is Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC. Invention is credited to Judith Amores Fernandez, Jaron Lanier.
Application Number | 20180075657 15/395256 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 61560262 |
Filed Date | 2018-03-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180075657 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lanier; Jaron ; et
al. |
March 15, 2018 |
ATTRIBUTE MODIFICATION TOOLS FOR MIXED REALITY
Abstract
Techniques described herein include mixed reality tools,
referred to as HoloPaint, that allow one or more users to turn
their physical environment into a painting and drawing canvas. In a
mixed reality environment, the user is able to paint or draw in the
air and/or on a surface. In a mixed reality environment, HoloPaint
may allow the one or more users to paint in the air, mold and
extract 3D meshes of surfaces, select among a number of various
properties from the physical environment, spray and surface paint,
splatter paint, and sculpt or shape digital content, among other
things. Techniques described herein allow for simultaneous
collaboration among mixed reality display devices of multiple users
interacting with the graphical representations in the mixed reality
environment.
Inventors: |
Lanier; Jaron; (Berkeley,
CA) ; Amores Fernandez; Judith; (Cambridge,
MA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC |
Redmond |
WA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
61560262 |
Appl. No.: |
15/395256 |
Filed: |
December 30, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62395298 |
Sep 15, 2016 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/04845 20130101;
G06T 19/20 20130101; G06T 2200/24 20130101; G06F 3/011 20130101;
G06F 3/04815 20130101; G06F 3/0304 20130101; G06F 3/0482 20130101;
G06F 1/163 20130101; G06T 19/006 20130101; G06T 11/001 20130101;
G06F 3/0425 20130101; G06T 2219/2012 20130101; G06F 1/1686
20130101; G06T 2215/16 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06T 19/00 20060101
G06T019/00; G06F 3/01 20060101 G06F003/01; G06T 19/20 20060101
G06T019/20; G06F 3/0482 20060101 G06F003/0482; G06F 3/0484 20060101
G06F003/0484; G06F 3/0481 20060101 G06F003/0481 |
Claims
1. A system comprising: a mixed reality display device operable in
a mixed reality environment; and a device communicatively coupled
to the mixed reality display device, the device comprising: one or
more processors; memory; and one or more modules stored in the
memory and executable by the one or more processors to perform
operations comprising: determining a location of a portion of a
user of the mixed reality display device relative to the mixed
reality environment; and selectively displaying or hiding, via the
display of the mixed reality display device, a user-interface menu
for controlling at least a portion of the mixed reality
environment, wherein the user-interface menu is locked to the
portion of the user based, at least in part, on the location of the
portion of the user relative to the mixed reality environment.
2. The system as claim 1 recites, wherein the portion of the user
comprises an arm or wrist of the user.
3. The system as claim 1 recites, wherein the user-interface menu
includes selectable menu items for controlling painting or drawing
processes in the mixed reality environment.
4. The system as claim 3 recites, wherein the painting or drawing
processes in the mixed reality environment include virtual spray
painting.
5. The system as claim 3 recites, wherein the painting or drawing
processes in the mixed reality environment include selecting a
physical attribute visible in the mixed reality environment and
applying the physical attribute to the painting or drawing
processes.
6. The system as claim 5 recites, wherein the physical attribute is
a color or texture.
7. The system as claim 1 recites, wherein the portion of the user
comprises a first finger of a first hand of the user and a second
finger of a second hand of the user, and wherein the user-interface
menu is located on the arm or wrist of the second hand of the user,
the operations further comprising: determining a distance between
the first finger and a menu item of the user-interface menu;
comparing the distance with a threshold distance value; and
initiating a process corresponding to the menu item based, at least
in part, on the comparing.
8. The system as claim 7 recites, wherein the process comprises a
painting or drawing process in the mixed reality environment.
9. A system comprising: a mixed reality display device operable in
a mixed reality environment; and a device communicatively coupled
to the mixed reality display device, the device comprising: one or
more processors; memory; and one or more modules stored in the
memory and executable by the one or more processors to perform
operations comprising: determining a distance and orientation of an
object relative to a surface in the mixed reality environment; and
applying virtual paint corresponding to a physical attribute onto
an area of the surface, wherein the area is based, at least in
part, on the distance and the orientation of the object, and
wherein a behavior of the painted area is based, at least in part,
on the physical attribute.
10. The system as claim 9 recites, wherein a density of the
painting is based, at least in part, on the distance.
11. The system as claim 9 recites, wherein the object is a hand or
portion of the hand of a user of the mixed reality display
device.
12. The system as claim 9 recites, wherein the object is a spray
tool or pointer held by a hand or portion of the hand of a user of
the mixed reality display device.
13. The system as claim 12 recites, wherein the user is a first
user, the operations further comprising: identifying a second user
in the mixed reality environment, wherein the surface in the mixed
reality environment is the second user.
14. A method comprising: selectively displaying or hiding, via the
display of a mixed reality display device, a user-interface menu
for controlling at least a portion of the mixed reality
environment, wherein the user-interface menu is locked to a portion
of a user; receiving painting commands from the user-interface
menu; and based at least in part on the painting commands, applying
a virtual paint corresponding to a physical attribute onto an area
of an object, wherein the physical attribute affects a behavior of
the object with respect to other objects.
15. The method as claim 14 recites, wherein a density of the
virtual paint applied to the area is based, at least in part, on a
distance between the area and a virtual paint brush that is
applying the paint.
16. The method as claim 15 recites, wherein the virtual paint brush
is a hand or portion of the hand of the user of the mixed reality
display device.
17. The method as claim 15 recites, wherein the virtual paint brush
is a spray tool or pointer held by a hand or portion of the hand of
the user of the mixed reality display device.
18. The method as claim 14 recites, wherein a density of the
virtual paint applied to the area is proportional to a strength of
the physical attribute.
19. The method as claim 14 recites, wherein the user is a first
user, and further comprising: identifying a second user in the
mixed reality environment, wherein the object in the mixed reality
environment is the second user.
20. The method as claim 14 recites, wherein the physical attribute
is a first physical attribute, and further comprising: virtually
painting a second physical attribute onto the area of the object to
form a compound physical attribute for the object.
Description
PRIORITY APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 62/395,298, filed on Sep. 15,
2016, titled "HoloPaint," which is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Computing systems can help generate new environments
including virtual reality environments and/or mixed reality
environments. Virtual reality is an immersive experience, which
simulates physical presence in a real or imagined environment. For
example, a virtual reality environment can immerse a physical,
real-world person with computer-generated graphics in a
computer-generated, virtual scene via a virtual reality display
device. Mixed reality, which can also be known as augmented
reality, is a hybrid reality experience, which merges real worlds
and virtual worlds. Mixed reality is a technology that produces
mixed reality environments where a physical, real-world person
and/or objects in physical, real-world scenes co-exist with
virtual, computer-generated people and/or objects in real time. For
example, a mixed reality environment can augment a physical,
real-world scene and/or a physical, real-world person with
computer-generated graphics in the physical, real-world scene
viewed via a mixed reality display device.
[0003] Co-located and/or remotely located users can communicate via
virtual reality or mixed reality technologies. Various additional
and/or alternative technologies are available to enable remotely
located users to communicate with one another. For instance,
remotely located users can communicate via visual communication
service providers that leverage online video chat, online voice
calls, online video conferencing, remote desktop sharing, etc.
SUMMARY
[0004] Techniques described herein include mixed reality tools,
referred to as HoloPaint, that allows one or more users to turn
their physical environment into a painting and drawing canvas. In a
mixed reality environment, the user is able to paint or draw in the
air and/or on a surface. In a mixed reality environment, HoloPaint
may allow the one or more users to paint in the air, mold and
extract 3D meshes of surfaces, select among a number of various
properties from the physical environment, spray and surface paint,
splatter paint, and sculpt or shape digital content, among other
things.
[0005] In some examples, functionality of HoloPaint may be applied
to the real world based on physical attributes (e.g., color, heat,
motion, sound, etc.) of objects or spaces of the real world. Such
functionality may be used to solve real world problems (e.g.,
optimization, inventory, modeling, detection, etc.).
[0006] It should be appreciated that the above-described subject
matter can be implemented as a computer-controlled apparatus, a
computer process, a computing system, or as an article of
manufacture such as a computer-readable storage medium. These and
various other features will be apparent from a reading of the
following Detailed Description and a review of the associated
drawings.
[0007] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of
techniques in a simplified form that are further described below in
the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify
key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter,
nor is it intended that this Summary be used to limit the scope of
the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter
is not limited to implementations that solve any or all
disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The Detailed Description is set forth with reference to the
accompanying figures, in which the left-most digit of a reference
number identifies the figure in which the reference number first
appears. The use of the same reference numbers in the same or
different figures indicates similar or identical items or
features.
[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example environment
for enabling one or more users in a mixed reality environment to
interact with virtual content that is presented in the mixed
reality environment.
[0010] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a head
mounted mixed reality display device.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a view
of a mixed reality environment wherein a user can interact with
virtual content that is presented in the mixed reality
environment.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a schematic view depicting a region of a mixed
reality environment that includes a drawing/painting feature,
according to some examples.
[0013] FIG. 5 is a schematic view depicting a region of a mixed
reality environment involved in a process of spray painting,
according to some examples.
[0014] FIG. 6 is a schematic view depicting a process of
determining distances in a mixed reality environment, according to
some examples.
[0015] FIG. 7 is a schematic view depicting a process of adapting a
property in a mixed reality environment and applying the property
to a drawing/painting, according to some examples.
[0016] FIG. 8 is a schematic view depicting arm-lock menus on
wrists of a user in a mixed reality environment, according to some
examples.
[0017] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a view
of a mixed reality environment wherein two or more users can
interact with one another and/or with virtual content that is
presented in the mixed reality environment.
[0018] FIG. 10 illustrates a first instance of a set of books on a
shelf and a second instance of the set of books on the shelf in a
mixed reality environment, according to some examples.
[0019] FIG. 11 illustrates displayed output that shows a comparison
of a set of books at a first instance and at a second instance in a
mixed reality environment, according to some examples.
[0020] FIG. 12 illustrates a mapping or distribution of a parameter
in a first instance of a region of a mixed reality environment and
in a second instance, according to some examples.
[0021] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process for applying virtual paint onto an object to display
changes of a physical attribute of the object from one time to a
subsequent time, as presented in a mixed reality environment.
[0022] FIG. 14 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process for managing inventory in a mixed reality environment.
[0023] FIG. 15 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process for applying virtual paint onto an object to display
changes of a physical parameter of the object from one time to a
subsequent time, as presented in a mixed reality environment.
[0024] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing an example
environment for enabling two or more users in a mixed reality
environment to interact with one another and/or with virtual
content that is presented in the mixed reality environment.
[0025] FIG. 17 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process to cause virtual content to be presented in the mixed
reality environment.
[0026] FIG. 18 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process to cause virtual content to be presented in the mixed
reality environment in different modes (e.g., presenter mode or
sharing mode).
[0027] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing an example
environment for enabling two or more users in a mixed reality
environment to interact with one another and/or with virtual
content that is presented in the mixed reality environment.
[0028] FIG. 20 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process to cause virtual content to be presented in the mixed
reality environment.
[0029] FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing an example
environment for enabling two or more users in a mixed reality
environment to interact with one another and/or with virtual
content that is presented in the mixed reality environment.
[0030] FIG. 22 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process to cause the visibility of virtual content to be modified
in a mixed reality environment.
[0031] FIG. 23 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process to cause an interaction associated with the virtual content
to be performed via one or more devices in a mixed reality
environment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0032] This disclosure describes techniques for enabling two or
more users in a mixed reality environment to collaborate with one
another and/or with virtual content that is presented in the mixed
reality environment. The techniques described herein can enhance
mixed reality collaborations between users in mixed reality
environments. In at least one example, the techniques are directed
to mixed reality social collaborations between two or more users
who are physically located in a same real scene, as described
below, and the real scene may be unmarked (i.e., lacking
predetermined and/or machine vision-specific markings for directing
interactions between the two or more users). The techniques
described herein can have various applications, including but not
limited to, enabling users that are located in a same real scene to
share virtual content and/or interact with the virtual content in a
mixed reality environment via mixed reality display devices. The
techniques described herein enable enhanced user interfaces to be
presented on displays of mixed reality devices thereby enhancing
mixed reality collaborations between users and the mixed reality
experience.
[0033] For the purposes of this discussion, physical, real-world
objects ("real objects") or physical, real-world people ("real
people" and/or "real person") describe objects or people,
respectively, that physically exist in a physical, real-world scene
("real scene") associated with a mixed reality display. Real
objects and/or real people can move in and out of a field of view
based on movement patterns of the real objects and/or movement of a
user and/or user device. Virtual, computer-generated content
("virtual content" and/or "content items") can describe content
that is generated by one or more computing devices to supplement
the real scene in a user's field of view. In at least one example,
virtual content can include one or more pixels each having a
respective color or brightness that are collectively presented on a
display such to represent a person, object, etc. that is not
physically present in a real scene. That is, in at least one
example, virtual content can include graphics that are
representative of objects ("virtual objects"), people ("virtual
people" and/or "virtual person"), biometric data, effects, etc.
Virtual content can include two-dimensional (2D) graphics,
three-dimensional (3D) objects, content associated with
applications, etc. Virtual content can be rendered into the mixed
reality environment via techniques described herein. In additional
and/or alternative examples, virtual content can include
computer-generated content such as sound, video, global positioning
system (GPS), etc.
[0034] Mixed reality experiences offer different opportunities to
affect self-perception and new ways for communication to occur. The
techniques described herein enable users to interact with one
another and/or with virtual content in mixed reality environments
using mixed reality devices. In at least one example, the
techniques described herein can enable conversational partners to
share virtual content and/or interact with virtual content in mixed
reality environments. While the techniques described herein are
directed to mixed reality environments, as described above, mixed
reality may also be known as augmented reality. Accordingly, the
techniques described herein should not be construed to exclude
augmented reality environments.
[0035] In various examples described herein, a mixed or virtual
reality system may incorporate any of a variety of programs or
applications that host painting or drawing functions or operations.
Such examples may be described by the term "HoloPaint," which may
be considered a framework for painting or drawing collaboration in
a mixed reality. Though, for convenience, the term "HoloPaint" is
used in the following examples, claimed subject matter is not
limited to any particular application or program performing the
processes in the examples.
[0036] Painting or drawing functions or operations may be visually
(e.g., virtually) rendered in a display of a mixed or virtual
reality system. Moreover, these functions or operations may be
visually applied to real objects or virtual objects displayed in
the mixed or virtual reality system. Such a system may allow
multiple collaborators to simultaneously look at the same results
and separately, or collaboratively, perform painting or drawing
functions or operations.
[0037] In particular examples, the main user interface in HoloPaint
may be an arm-lock menu or toolkit, which a user can make appear or
disappear by using voice commands (e.g., saying "menu" or
"toolkit") or by arm movement. Though the term "arm-lock" is used
herein, any other portion of a user, besides an arm, may be used as
an object of reference for location of a menu. An arm-lock menu may
comprise a virtual menu of menu items for controlling or operating
various drawing or painting functions, among other things. The
virtual menu may be displayed to appear to be at least partially
surrounding one or both of the user's arms or wrists. As the arms
or hands move, so does the virtual menu(s). This menu functionality
is referred to as arm-lock.
[0038] In some examples, the menu or toolkit may appear virtually
by default around the wrist(s) or arm(s) of the user, and the user
can reposition the menu or toolkit by moving the wrist(s) or
arm(s). Menu items of an arm-lock menu on one arm, for example, may
be selected by a virtual touch, tap, or scroll of a finger(s) of
the other arm.
[0039] The menu or toolkit may have several panes of buttons,
including drawing and paint options, various input tools, as well
as Help and Settings menus, for example. The actions of different
buttons may include, but are not limited to, Settings, Move Tool,
Selection Tool, Remove Tool, Evaluation Tool, Airbrush Tool, Spray
Paint Tool, Splatter Tool, etc. Move Tool (e.g., arrows) may enable
movement of objects on air taps. Subsequent to selection from the
arm-lock menu, Move Tool may follow either the user's gaze or hand
position, depending on the option chosen in Settings, for example.
Selection Tool may allow the selection of multiple objects. Remove
Tool (e.g., trash bin) may be used to delete objects on air
tap.
[0040] Gestures and user input may be performed by any of a number
of techniques. Selection of different menu options as well as
objects may be performed by airtapping the options or objects once,
for example. Airtapping may be a motion of a user's hand or
finger(s) making a "tapping" motion in space (e.g., not necessarily
against an object). In some cases, by default, the movement of 3D
objects may be set to follow the user's gaze, but an option in a
settings menu may allow movement to follow hand position. In this
latter example, to stop movement, the user may gaze at the object
being moved and air tap to place it. To perform rotations around
the vertical axis, the user may first air tap an object (with the
move tool selected), then pinch and move a hand left to right. In
some examples, HoloPaint allows the use of a physical Bluetooth
keyboard, in place of the virtual one.
[0041] In some examples, voice commands may be used as input. In
the following, words in quotes represent spoken words. For example,
"menu" (or "toolkit," "tools," etc.) may toggle the appearance of
the arm-lock menu in the scene.
[0042] In some examples, HoloPaint may be implemented without a
separate server. For example, HoloPaint may be run on either a
single headset or be distributed on headsets of those sharing the
experience.
[0043] In some examples, HoloPaint may be used for art expression
or to produce holographic presentations, such as for
PowerPoint.RTM. slides (e.g., future versions of PowerPoint.RTM.
that may allow for holographic presentations). For instance, one
can use techniques described herein to design, place, modify, and
trigger-in-real-time elements such as text, charts, and other
components that are useful in such a presentation to turn the
physical space around a presenter into an active (e.g., animated or
"alive") environment. In some cases, speech recognition can detect
the presenter's voice and augment the physical space based, at
least in part, on various aspects of the presenter's voice. Such
aspects may include volume, tone, expression, spoken words or
phrases, and so on. Listeners (e.g., viewers of the presentation)
may interact with the content in the same space or in a remote
location, for example.
[0044] In some examples, HoloPaint may be applied to various
aspects of fashion design, body painting, and makeup. In particular
examples, HoloPaint may be used to spray or splatter virtual paint
around a virtual person (e.g., a mannequin) or a real person.
Different textures may be applied on top of the person to simulate
different materials, such as silk, leather, or different types of
yarn, just to name a few examples. Using an RGB (red, green, blue)
camera of a head mounted mixed reality display device, one may
match colors that are already in a textile (real or virtual) or use
any of a number of virtual brushes to create a palette that fits
with a selected color. Note that, because of virtual/augmented/real
worlds described herein, an object (e.g., a paint brush) may be a
real object or a virtual object, though the context of its
description may determine whether it is real or virtual. In some
implementations, spray paint need not be a color but may be a
physical attribute (e.g., a physical parameter), such as gravity,
sound, heat, radiation, etc. For example, a user may paint a real
or a virtual object with "gravity paint" to affect the virtual
gravity of the object and its pull on other objects. The greater
the amount of gravity paint applied, the greater the gravity of the
object. In another example, a user may paint a real or virtual
object with "heat paint" to affect the virtual heat of the object
and its heating influence on other objects. The greater the amount
(e.g., density) of heat paint applied, the hotter the object.
[0045] In some examples, HoloPaint may be applied to various
aspects of photography. In particular examples, HoloPaint may be
used for air painting, which may be a light painting photographic
technique. Such air painting may be performed in real time. In such
an application, for example, photographers could practice using
various painting techniques with a head mounted mixed reality
display device to investigate various types of light painting.
[0046] In some examples, HoloPaint may be applied to various
aspects of interior design. In particular examples, HoloPaint may
be used for virtually painting walls, surfaces, furniture, or
various other room items to help interior designers or architects
visualize their prototype design ideas. HoloPaint may also be used
for creating shapes in the air of a mixed reality space. Colors
from the real environment of the space may be selected to create a
palette that can be applied to other parts of the space (real or
virtual).
[0047] In some examples, HoloPaint may be applied to various
aspects of measurements. In particular examples, HoloPaint may be
used to determine metrics related to how creative content (e.g.,
painted, drawn, altered, or created objects in a mixed reality
space) fits into the real world. For instance, such metrics may
include volumes occupied by holograms, the percentage of walls or
other objects in the mixed reality space that are painted (or were
painted during an active session), and so on. In some examples,
HoloPaint may be used to determine specific features, such as
whether there are particular types of objects (e.g., persons, cats,
furniture, walls, etc.) and the quantities of the objects in a
mixed reality space.
[0048] In particular examples, HoloPaint may be used to determine
metrics associated with a user of a head mounted mixed reality
display device. For instance, such metrics may include number of
calories expended by a user during a process of creating or
modifying an object (e.g., creating a virtual piece of furniture,
painting a wall, etc.). Measurements of metrics may be based, at
least in part, on sensors such as, for instance, Microsoft
Band.RTM., which may be worn during the creating or modifying
processes. In other examples, machine learning may be used to build
a corpus of examples of people who have worn such sensors (e.g.,
Microsoft Band.RTM.). In a particular example, such machine
learning may be used to estimate or predict caloric expenditure of
users not wearing such sensors.
[0049] In some examples, HoloPaint may allow a user to splatter
spray paint or air paint with spatialized audio forms. Such an
audio tool may enhance the ability of a visually impaired person,
for example, to understand the spatial extent of a real space. In
this case, the visually impaired user may direct acoustic trials in
the room as if it was an enhanced version of taps generated by a
real cane. This could, for instance, be helpful in a complicated
space, such as a relatively complex room with many internal
surfaces, where a visually impaired user may have trouble
navigating back to where some item like a water fountain was
located.
[0050] Using the internal RGB camera and depth sensors of the
HoloLens, for example, HoloPaint may approximate materials of
selected surfaces of objects (real or virtual) and vary the sound
depending on the material properties, for example. Similarly, using
the depth information of the surface, HoloPaint may create more
complicated sounds.
Illustrative Environments
[0051] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a particular example
environment 100 for enabling users in a mixed reality environment
to interact with one another and with virtual content that is
presented in the mixed reality environment. Such an environment may
enable a single user in the mixed reality environment to interact
with virtual content that is presented in the mixed reality
environment. More particularly, the example environment 100 can
include a service provider 102, one or more networks 104, one or
more users 106 (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, user 106C, etc.) and
one or more devices 108 (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, device
108C, etc.) associated with the one or more users 106 (e.g., user
106A, user 106B, user 106C, etc.).
[0052] The service provider 102 can be any entity, server(s),
platform, console, computer, etc., that facilitates two or more
users 106 interacting in a mixed reality environment to enable
individual users (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, and/or user 106C) of
the two or more users 106 to interact with one another and/or with
virtual content in the mixed reality environment. The service
provider 102 can be implemented in a non-distributed computing
environment or can be implemented in a distributed computing
environment, possibly by running some modules on devices 108 or
other remotely located devices. As shown, the service provider 102
can include one or more server(s) 110, which can include one or
more processing unit(s) (e.g., processor(s) 112) and
computer-readable media 114, such as memory. In various examples,
the service provider 102 can access, receive, and/or determine
authentication data from a device (e.g., device 108A), access
content data associated with virtual content items, send rendering
data associated with individual virtual content items to the device
(e.g., device 108A), and cause the individual virtual content items
to be presented on a display associated with the device (e.g.,
device 108A). For the purpose of this discussion, rendering data
may include instructions for rendering a graphical representation
of a virtual content item via a display of a device (e.g., device
108A). For instance, the rendering data may include instructions
describing the geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, shading,
etc. associated with a virtual content item. In some examples, the
service provider 102 may send rendering data to devices 108 and the
devices 108 can render the graphical representations via displays
associated with the devices. In other examples, as described below,
the service provider 102 may render frames and may send the frames
to the devices 108 for presentation via the displays.
[0053] In some examples, the service provider 102 can receive frame
requests from a device (e.g., device 108A) and can send frame
messages to the device (e.g., device 108A) to mitigate latency
caused by movement that occurs between sending the frame requests
to the service provider 102 and receiving frame messages at and/or
rendering corresponding frames via the device (e.g., device 108A).
In at least one example, the service provider 102 can receive
requests from individual devices (e.g., device 108A, device 108B,
device 108C, etc.) of the one or more devices 108 associated with
sharing virtual content items with other devices 108 (e.g., a
request to view and/or access a virtual content items) and/or
requests for performing interactions on the virtual content items,
and the service provider 102 can synchronize communications and/or
content rendering between the devices 108 to ensure that the
virtual content items and interactions directed to the virtual
content items are presented to corresponding users 106 at a
substantially same time so that each of the users 106 has a same
experience.
[0054] In some examples, the networks 104 can be any type of
network known in the art, such as the Internet. Moreover, the
devices 108 can communicatively couple to the networks 104 in any
manner, such as by a global or local wired or wireless connection
(e.g., local area network (LAN), intranet, Bluetooth, etc.). The
networks 104 can facilitate communication between the server(s) 110
and the devices 108 associated with the one or more users 106.
[0055] Examples support scenarios where device(s) that can be
included in the one or more server(s) 110 can include one or more
computing devices that operate in a cluster or other clustered
configuration to share resources, balance load, increase
performance, provide fail-over support or redundancy, or for other
purposes. Device(s) included in the one or more server(s) 110 can
represent, but are not limited to, desktop computers, server
computers, web-server computers, personal computers, mobile
computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, wearable computers,
implanted computing devices, telecommunication devices, automotive
computers, network enabled televisions, thin clients, terminals,
game consoles, gaming devices, work stations, media players,
digital video recorders (DVRs), set-top boxes, cameras, integrated
components for inclusion in a computing device, appliances, or any
other sort of computing device.
[0056] Device(s) that can be included in the one or more server(s)
110 can include any type of computing device having one or more
processing unit(s) (e.g., processor(s) 112) operably connected to
computer-readable media 114 such as via a bus, which in some
instances can include one or more of a system bus, a data bus, an
address bus, a PCI bus, a Mini-PCI bus, and any variety of local,
peripheral, and/or independent buses. Executable instructions
stored on computer-readable media 114 can include, for example, an
input module 116, a content database 118, a content management
module 120, a frame rendering module 122, a positioning module 124,
an arm-lock module 126, a permissions module 128, and one or more
applications 130, and other modules, programs, or applications that
are loadable and executable by the processor(s) 112.
[0057] Alternatively, or in addition, the functionality described
herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware
logic components such as accelerators. For example, and without
limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that
can be used include Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs),
Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs),
Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip
systems (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), etc.
Device(s) that can be included in the one or more server(s) 110 can
further include one or more input/output (I/O) interface(s) coupled
to the bus to allow device(s) to communicate with other devices
such as input peripheral devices (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a pen,
a game controller, a voice input device, a touch input device,
gestural input device, a tracking device, a mapping device, an
image camera, a time-of-flight (TOF) camera, a depth sensor, a
physiological sensor, and the like) and/or output peripheral
devices (e.g., a display, a printer, audio speakers, a haptic
output, and the like). Such network interface(s) can include one or
more network interface controllers (NICs) or other types of
transceiver devices to send and receive communications over a
network. For simplicity, some components are omitted from the
illustrated environment.
[0058] Processing unit(s) (e.g., processor(s) 112) can represent,
for example, a CPU-type processing unit, a GPU-type processing
unit, an HPU-type processing unit, a field-programmable gate array
(FPGA), another class of digital signal processor (DSP), or other
hardware logic components that can, in some instances, be driven by
a CPU. For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of
hardware logic components that can be used include
Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs),
Application-Specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip
systems (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), etc. In
various examples, the processing unit(s) (e.g., processor(s) 112)
can execute one or more modules and/or processes to cause the
server(s) 110 to perform a variety of functions, as set forth above
and explained in further detail in the following disclosure.
Additionally, each of the processing unit(s) (e.g., processor(s)
112) can possess its own local memory, which also can store program
modules, program data, and/or one or more operating systems.
[0059] In at least one configuration, the computer-readable media
114 of the server(s) 110 can include components that facilitate
interaction between the service provider 102 and the one or more
devices 108. The components can represent pieces of code executing
on a computing device. For example, the computer-readable media 114
can include the input module 116, the content database 118, the
content management module 120, the frame rendering module 122, the
positioning module 124, the arm-lock module 126, the permissions
module 128, and the one or more applications 130, etc. In at least
some examples, the modules can be implemented as computer-readable
instructions, various data structures, and so forth via at least
one processing unit(s) (e.g., processor(s) 112) to enable two or
more users 106 in a mixed reality environment to interact with one
another and with virtual content that is presented in the mixed
reality environment. Functionality to perform these operations can
be included in multiple devices or a single device.
[0060] Depending on the exact configuration and type of the
server(s) 110, the computer-readable media 114 can include computer
storage media and/or communication media. Computer storage media
can include volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, and/or other
persistent and/or auxiliary computer storage media, removable and
non-removable computer storage media implemented in any method or
technology for storage of information such as computer readable
instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.
Computer memory is an example of computer storage media. Thus,
computer storage media includes tangible and/or physical forms of
media included in a device and/or hardware component that is part
of a device or external to a device, including but not limited to
random-access memory (RAM), static random-access memory (SRAM),
dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), phase change memory (PRAM),
read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory
(EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory
(EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM),
digital versatile disks (DVDs), optical cards or other optical
storage media, miniature hard drives, memory cards, magnetic
cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, magnetic cards or
other magnetic storage devices or media, solid-state memory
devices, storage arrays, network attached storage, storage area
networks, hosted computer storage or any other storage memory,
storage device, and/or storage medium that can be used to store and
maintain information for access by a computing device.
[0061] In contrast, communication media can embody computer
readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other
data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave, or other
transmission mechanism. The term "modulated data signal" means a
signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed
in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. Such
signals or carrier waves, etc. can be propagated on wired media
such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and/or wireless
media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. As
defined herein, computer storage media does not include
communication media. That is, computer storage media does not
include communications media consisting solely of a modulated data
signal, a carrier wave, or a propagated signal, per se.
[0062] The input module 116 is configured to receive input from one
or more devices 108 (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, device 108C,
etc.) each corresponding to a user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B,
user 106C, etc.). In at least one example, the input module 116 can
access, receive, and/or determine authentication data from a device
(e.g., device 108A). The authentication data can correspond to a
user identification and password associated with a user (e.g., user
106A) associated with the device (e.g., device 108A), biometric
identification associated with a user (e.g., user 106A) associated
with the device (e.g., device 108A), etc. In at least one example,
the authentication data can be leveraged to determine presence of
corresponding devices 108 in a mixed reality environment. For the
purpose of this discussion, presence may indicate that a device
(e.g., device 108A) is located in and/or interacting with other
devices (e.g., device 108B, device 108C, etc.) and/or virtual
content in a mixed reality environment.
[0063] In additional and/or alternative examples, the
authentication data can be utilized to determine virtual content
items that are available to the user (e.g., user 106A) and the
user's (e.g., user 106A) permissions corresponding to viewing
and/or interacting with each of the virtual content items. In at
least one example, the authentication data can be utilized for
causing virtual content items to be presented in a same mixed
reality environment where a user (e.g. user 106A) previously left
the virtual content item and in a same position where the user
(e.g., user 106A) previously left the virtual content item (e.g.,
if a user (e.g., user 106A) removes his or her head mounted display
device (e.g., device 108A), turns off his or her device (e.g.,
device 108A), etc.).
[0064] The content database 118 is configured to store content data
associated with virtual content. Content data associated with the
individual virtual content items can be stored in the content
database 118. Each individual virtual content item can be
associated with data indicating an owner identification, a content
identification, and permissions (i.e., permissions data). Data
associated with an owner of a virtual content item may identify a
user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, user 106C, etc.) that generated
and/or has control over the permissions associated with a virtual
content item. That is, an owner of a virtual content item can
correspond to a user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, user 106C, etc.)
that generated and/or has control over the permissions associated
with the virtual content item. Content identification can
correspond to data indicating the content associated with the
virtual content item. Permissions data can include information
indicating which users 106 and/or corresponding devices 108 have
permission to view and/or interact with the virtual content in the
mixed reality environment (i.e., which users 106 the owner has
shared the virtual content with). For instance, the permission data
can reflect whether a virtual content item is public, private,
visible by some devices (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, and/or
device 108C), etc. Additionally and/or alternatively, the
permissions data can indicate which interactions particular users
106 can perform and/or which interactions particular users 106 are
prohibited from performing. In some examples, the permissions data
can be based on input from the owner of the corresponding virtual
content item, as described below.
[0065] In at least one example, the user (e.g., user 106A)
associated with a device (e.g., device 108A) that initially
requests the virtual content item can be the owner of the virtual
content item such that he or she can modify the permissions
associated with the virtual content item. In at least one example,
the owner of the virtual content item can determine which other
users (e.g., user 106B and/or user 106C) can view the virtual
content item (i.e., whether the virtual content item is visible to
the other users 106). For instance, in an example, an owner of a
virtual content item can utilize a menu (e.g., a dropdown menu, a
radial menu, etc.) or other mechanisms to share the virtual content
item with all users 106 in a same mixed reality environment (i.e.,
make the virtual content item public), share the virtual content
item with some users (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, and/or user 106C)
in the same mixed reality environment, or not share the virtual
content item with any other users 106 (i.e., make the virtual
content item private). That is, in some examples, the owner of the
virtual content item can determine whether a virtual content item
is visible or not visible via other devices 108. In other examples,
the owner of the virtual content item can determine which other
users (e.g., user 106B and/or user 106C) can interact with the
virtual content item via corresponding devices (e.g., device 108B
and/or device 108C) and/or which interactions are permitted.
[0066] The content management module 120 manages the ownership of
virtual content items and can leverage the permissions data to
determine which of the other users (e.g., user 106B and/or user
106C) and/or corresponding devices (e.g., device 106B and/or user
106C) have permission to view individual virtual content items
and/or interact with individual virtual content items. That is, the
content management module 120 may access the content data to
determine devices 108 with which a content item has been shared
and/or interactions available for each of the devices 108. As
described above, the content data may include permissions data
which indicates whether a content item is public, private, or has
been shared with one or more devices (e.g., device 108B, device
108C, etc.) and/or interactions available for each of the devices
108.
[0067] In various examples, the frame rendering module 122 can
receive frame request messages from a requesting device (e.g.,
device 108A) of the one or more devices 108. Frame request messages
can include, but are not limited to, pose information associated
with each eye of a user (e.g., user 106A), a timestamp, a desired
resolution, and a desired field of view. Pose information can
include a position and a rotation relative to a common coordinate
system (i.e., a coordinate system that is consistently defined for
both the device (e.g., device 108A) and the service provider 102),
which for the purpose of this discussion, may be referred to as the
worldspace coordinate system. A time stamp may represent a time in
which the frame request message was generated and/or sent. A
desired resolution may be a desired level of detail associated with
rendered virtual content (i.e., a higher resolution amounts to more
detail in the virtual content). In some examples, resolution can
describe a pixel count in a digital image. A desired field of view
may describe an extent to which the observable world is desired to
be seen at any given time through a display of a mixed reality
display device (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, device 108C, etc.).
In some examples, field of view may describe an angle of view.
[0068] The frame request message can be processed by the frame
rendering module 122 to enable virtual content to be rendered from
a particular user's point of view (e.g., user 106A). The frame
rendering module 122 may generate a frame message responsive to a
frame request message. The resulting frame message can include a
same timestamp which was sent in the associated frame request
message, the determined resolution, the determined field of view,
the pose of each eye as sent in the associated frame request
message, and the render distance. In some examples, the frame
rendering module 122 can be configured to render stereo images (one
image per eye of a user (e.g., user 106A)) for each frame request
message. The stereo images may represent frames. A first image of
the stereo images can correspond to the left eye of a user (e.g.,
user 106A) and a second image of the stereo images can correspond
to a right eye of a user (e.g., user 106A). In at least one
example, a frame message may include rendered stereo images. In
some examples, the frame rendering module 122 can render a mixed
reality scene at a different resolution or field of view than the
requested desired values. The resulting resolution and/or field of
view may be associated with the frame message, described above. The
frame rendering module 122 can send the frame message to the
requesting device (e.g., device 108A).
[0069] The requesting device (e.g., device 108A) can receive the
frame message, process the received frame message, and render the
stereo images as two quads, or other virtual surfaces, positioned
in worldspace in front of a virtual stereo camera associated with
the requesting device (e.g., device 108A). In an example, the left
stereo image can be textured onto the left quad and the right
stereo image can be textured onto the right quad. In such an
example, the left quad may be rendered by a left camera associated
with a device (e.g., device 108A) and the right quad may be
rendered by a right camera associated with a device (e.g., device
108A). Each quad can be positioned in worldspace in front of each
eye as specified in the frame message, such that each quad's normal
vector is aligned with the eye direction vector. Each quad can be
sized such that it can fill the frustum defined by each eye in the
received frame message, which can be defined by the combination of
the determined field of view and the eye pose information in the
frame message. The requesting device (e.g., device 108A), can
continue to render both the left and right quads as the user (e.g.,
user 106A) moves about in worldspace (with the quads fixed in
worldspace), until the next frame request message is sent to the
frame rendering module 122 and the responsive frame message is
received by the requesting device (e.g., device 108A). Based at
least in part on receiving the next frame message, the left and
right quads can be repositioned and retextured as described
according to the data in the frame message (e.g., a same timestamp
which was sent in the associated frame request message, the
determined resolution, the determined field of view, the pose of
each eye as sent in the associated frame request message, and the
render distance).
[0070] Before the next frame message is received by the requesting
device (e.g., 108A), any movement of the user (e.g., user 106A),
and corresponding device (e.g., device 108A), relative to the left
and right quads (which are fixed in worldspace) can appear as a
corresponding and opposite movement of the left and right quads in
screen-space (e.g., relative to the screen). For the purpose of
this discussion, screen-space can represent the space defined by
the display 204 associated with a device (e.g., device 108A). For
each frame message, there can be an infinite number of possible
valid positions and sizes for the left and right quads defined by a
proportional relationship between the worldspace distance from each
quad to each eye and the worldspace size of each quad (i.e., the
further away these quads are, the larger they may be in order to
fill each eye frustum appropriately). The amount of movement in
screen-space can be proportionately affected by the distance at
which these quads are positioned relative to the user (e.g., user
106A) (i.e., the parallax effect).
[0071] To create more natural movement of these quads in
screen-space (between frame messages) the distance of these quads
(from their associated eye positions) can be determined by using a
heuristic to approximate an appropriate distance of the quads. An
example of a heuristic can be to calculate the average distance of
each virtual object which is visible in the rendered frame. Another
example can be to calculate the average distance of each pixel that
is visible in the frame rendering module 122. An additional and/or
alternative example can be to calculate the distance of the most
salient object (or the most salient pixels) in the scene (as
determined by any number of factors, including gaze tracking). The
frame rendering module 122 can use any of these (or any other)
heuristics to calculate a render distance for each frame, which can
also be sent in each frame message. This render distance can then
be used to define a specific position and size at which the
requesting device (e.g., device 108A) can position the left and
right quads.
[0072] In at least one example, to calculate an average pixel
distance, the frame rendering module 122 can render a depth buffer
for each frame from a center eye anchor (i.e., the center between
both eyes of a user (e.g., user 106A)). In the at least one
example, the depth buffer can be rendered using a shading device
("shader") that outputs the pixel depth mapped to a value between 0
and 1 (linearly or otherwise), with 0 being the camera's near
plane, and 1 being the camera's far plane. As a non-limiting
example, a depth value can be encoded either into one (8-bit)
channel of the output buffer, such that the depth value is encoded
with a resolution of 255 values (1 byte), or alternatively all four
channels in a 32-bit buffer can be leveraged to encode a 32-bit
floating point value representing the same depth value (between 0
and 1) at 32-bit precision for each pixel. In the non-limiting
example, the resulting depth buffer values (once decoded into a
standard 32-bit floating point representation) can be used to
determine the worldspace distance between each pixel and the camera
which was used to render the depth buffer. In the non-limiting
example, the worldspace distance for each pixel is determined by
subtracting the near plane distance from the far plane distance,
multiplying that difference by the pixel's depth value, and then
adding the near plane distance to the result. The frame rendering
module 122 can then calculate an average pixel distance by
averaging the worldspace distance of each pixel. This average pixel
distance can be included in the frame message as the render
distance.
[0073] In some examples, the frame rendering module 122 may send
the depth buffer data in the frame message to the requesting device
(e.g., device 108A) and a parallax shader can be used by the
requesting device (e.g., device 108A) to approximate movement of
the user (e.g., user 106A). In such examples, the frame message may
include additional and/or alternative data (e.g., the depth buffer,
either for each eye, or for the center eye anchor), and the
rendering module 136 may render the virtual content items in the
mixed reality environment. In such examples, the frame rendering
module 122 may not calculate the average pixel distance and/or a
saliency map, as described above.
In at least some examples, the frame rendering module 122 may
access the content data to determine which virtual content items a
user (e.g., user 106A) has open and/or which virtual content items
the user (e.g., user 106A) has shared with other users (e.g., user
106B and/or user 106C).
[0074] The positioning module 124 can send instructions associated
with rendering virtual content on a display of a device (e.g.,
device 108A) to the device (e.g., device 108A). That is, the
positioning module 124 can send instructions associated with a
position and/or placement of virtual content in a mixed reality
environment. The instructions can be determined by the content
data, and in some examples, may be associated with the rendering
data, described below.
[0075] Arm-lock module 126 may, in part, allow for rendering an
arm-lock menu. For example, as described below, arm-lock module 126
may use sensor information to determine a location of a portion of
a user of a mixed reality display device relative to a mixed
reality. Arm-lock module 126 may selectively display or hide, via
the display of the mixed reality display device, a user-interface
menu locked to the portion (e.g., arm or wrist) of the user based,
at least in part, on the location of the portion of the user
relative to the mixed reality display device.
[0076] Permissions module 128 is configured to determine whether an
interaction between a first user (e.g., user 106A) and the second
user (e.g., user 106B) is permitted, authorizations associated with
individual users (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, user 106C, etc.),
etc. In at least one example, the permissions module 128 can store
permissions data corresponding to instructions associated with
individual users 106. The instructions can indicate what
interactions that a particular user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, or
user 106C) permits another user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, or
user 106C) to have with the particular user (e.g., user 106A, user
106B, or user 106C) and/or view of the particular user (e.g., user
106A, user 106B, or user 106C). Additionally and/or alternatively,
permission data can indicate types of information (e.g., metadata)
a particular user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, or user 106C) is
permitted to see. The permissions data can be mapped to unique
identifiers that are stored in the database 118, described
below.
[0077] Applications (e.g., application(s) 130) are created by
programmers to fulfill specific tasks. For example, applications
(e.g., application(s) 130) can provide utility, entertainment,
educational, and/or productivity functionalities to users 106 of
devices 108. Applications (e.g., application(s) 130) can be built
into a device (e.g., telecommunication, text message, clock,
camera, etc.) or can be customized (e.g., games, news,
transportation schedules, online shopping, etc.). Application(s)
130 can provide conversational partners (e.g., two or more users
106) various functionalities, including but not limited to, sharing
and/or interacting with virtual content items in a mixed reality
environment. In at least some examples, the virtual content items
can be applications and/or can be associated with the
applications.
[0078] In some examples, the one or more users 106 can operate
corresponding devices 108 (e.g., user devices) to perform various
functions associated with the devices 108. Device(s) 108 can
represent a diverse variety of device types and are not limited to
any particular type of device. Examples of device(s) 108 can
include but are not limited to mobile computers, embedded
computers, or combinations thereof. Example mobile computers can
include laptop computers, tablet computers, wearable computers,
implanted computing devices, telecommunication devices, automotive
computers, portable gaming devices, media players, cameras, or the
like. Example embedded computers can include network enabled
televisions, integrated components for inclusion in a computing
device, appliances, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, or
any other sort of processing device, or the like. In at least one
example, the devices 108 can include mixed reality devices (e.g.,
CANON.RTM. MREAL.RTM. System. MICROSOFT.RTM. HOLOLENS.RTM., etc.).
Mixed reality devices can include one or more sensors and a mixed
reality display, as described below in the context of FIG. 2. In
FIG. 1, device 108A, device 108B, and device 108C are wearable
computers (e.g., head mount devices); however, the devices 108 can
be any other device as described above. In at least one example,
the devices 108 can be untethered such that they are not physically
connected to external devices. However, the devices 108 can be
communicatively coupled to external devices, as described
herein.
[0079] Device(s) 108 can include one or more input/output (I/O)
interface(s) coupled to the bus to allow device(s) to communicate
with other devices such as input peripheral devices (e.g., a
keyboard, a mouse, a pen, a game controller, a voice input device,
a touch input device, gestural input device, a tracking device, a
mapping device, an image camera, a depth sensor, a physiological
sensor, and the like) and/or output peripheral devices (e.g., a
display, a printer, audio speakers, a haptic output, and the like).
As described above, in some examples, the I/O devices can be
integrated into the one or more server(s) 110 and/or other machines
and/or devices 108. In other examples, the one or more input
peripheral devices can be communicatively coupled to the one or
more server(s) 110 and/or other machines and/or devices 108. The
one or more input peripheral devices can be associated with a
single device (e.g., MICROSOFT.RTM. KINECT.RTM., INTEL.RTM.
Perceptual Computing SDK 2013, LEAP MOTION.RTM., etc.) or separate
devices.
[0080] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a head
mounted mixed reality display device 200. As illustrated in FIG. 2,
the head mounted mixed reality display device 200 can include one
or more sensors 202 and a display 204. The one or more sensors 202
can reconstruct the real scene in which the one or more users 106
are physically located and track real people and/or objects within
the real scene. The one or more sensors 202 can include cameras
and/or sensors. The cameras can include image cameras, stereoscopic
cameras, etc. The sensors can include depth sensors, color sensors,
acoustic sensors, optical sensors, pattern sensors, gravity
sensors, etc. The cameras and/or sensors can output streams of data
in substantially real time. The data can include moving image data
and/or still image data (e.g., tracking data) representative of
movement of real people and/or real objects in a real scene that is
observable by the cameras and/or sensors. Additionally, the data
can include depth data.
[0081] Tracking devices can output the moving image data and/or
still image data (e.g., tracking data) representative of movement
of real people and/or real objects in a real scene. Tracking
devices can include optical tracking devices (e.g., VICON.RTM.,
OPTITRACK.RTM.), magnetic tracking devices, acoustic tracking
devices, gyroscopic tracking devices, mechanical tracking systems,
depth cameras (e.g., KINECT.RTM., INTEL.RTM. RealSense, etc.),
inertial sensors (e.g., INTERSENSE.RTM., XSENS, etc.), combinations
of the foregoing, etc. The tracking devices can output streams of
volumetric data, skeletal data, perspective data, etc. in
substantially real time. The streams of volumetric data, skeletal
data, perspective data, etc. can be received by the input module
116 in substantially real time. Volumetric data can correspond to a
volume of space occupied by a body of a user (e.g., user 106A, user
106B, or user 106C). Skeletal data can correspond to data used to
approximate a skeleton, in some examples, corresponding to a body
of a user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, or user 106C), and track the
movement of the skeleton over time. The skeleton corresponding to
the body of the user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, or user 106C) can
include an array of nodes that correspond to a plurality of human
joints (e.g., elbow, knee, hip, etc.) that are connected to
represent a human body. Perspective data can correspond to data
collected from two or more perspectives that can be used to
determine an outline of a body of a user (e.g., user 106A, user
106B, or user 106C) from a particular perspective.
[0082] Combinations of the volumetric data, the skeletal data, and
the perspective data can be used to determine body representations
corresponding to users 106. The body representations can
approximate a body shape of a user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, or
user 106C). That is, volumetric data associated with a particular
user (e.g., user 106A), skeletal data associated with a particular
user (e.g., user 106A), and perspective data associated with a
particular user (e.g., user 106A) can be used to determine a body
representation that represents the particular user (e.g., user
106A). The body representations can be used by the rendering module
136 to determine where to render virtual content in the 3D
coordinate system (e.g. worldspace) corresponding to the real space
where the particular user (e.g., user 106A) is physically
located.
[0083] The depth data can represent distances between real objects
in a real scene observable by sensors and/or cameras and the
sensors and/or cameras. The depth data can be based at least in
part on infrared (IR) data, trulight data, stereoscopic data, light
and/or pattern projection data, gravity data, acoustic data, etc.
In at least one example, the stream of depth data can be derived
from IR sensors (e.g., time of flight, etc.) and can be represented
as a point cloud reflective of the real scene. The point cloud can
represent a set of data points or depth pixels associated with
surfaces of real objects and/or the real scene configured in a 3D
coordinate system (e.g., worldspace). The depth pixels can be
mapped into a grid. The grid of depth pixels can indicate a
distance between real objects in the real scene and the cameras
and/or sensors. The grid of depth pixels that correspond to the
volume of space that is observable from the cameras and/or sensors
can be called a depth space. The depth space can be utilized by the
rendering module 136 (in the devices 108) for determining how to
render virtual content in the mixed reality display.
[0084] In some examples, the one or more sensors 202 can be
integrated into the head mounted mixed reality display device 200
and/or devices 108. In such examples, the one or more sensors 202
correspond to inside-out sensing sensors; that is, sensors that
capture information from a first person perspective. In additional
or alternative examples, the one or more sensors can be external to
the head mounted mixed reality display device 200 and/or devices
108. In such examples, the one or more sensors 202 can be arranged
in a room (e.g., placed in various positions throughout the room),
associated with a device, etc. Such sensors can correspond to
outside-in sensing sensors; that is, sensors that capture
information from a third person perspective. In yet another
example, the sensors can be external to the head mounted mixed
reality display device 200 but can be associated with one or more
wearable devices configured to collect data associated with the
user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, or user 106C).
[0085] The display 204 can present visual content to the one or
more users 106 in a mixed reality environment. In some examples,
the display 204 can present the mixed reality environment to a user
(e.g., user 106A) in a spatial region that occupies an area that is
substantially coextensive with the user's (e.g., user 106A) actual
field of vision. In other examples, the display 204 can present the
mixed reality environment to the user (e.g., user 106A) in a
spatial region that occupies a lesser portion of a user's (e.g.,
user 106A) actual field of vision. The display 204 can include a
transparent display that enables a user (e.g., user 106A) to view
the real scene where he or she is physically located. Transparent
displays can include optical see-through displays where the user
(e.g., user 106A) sees the real scene he or she is physically
present in directly, video see-through displays where the user
(e.g., user 106A) observes the real scene in a video image acquired
from a mounted camera, etc. The display 204 can present the virtual
content to the user (e.g., user 106A) such that the virtual content
augments the real scene where the user (e.g., user 106A) is
physically located within the spatial region.
[0086] The virtual content can appear differently to different
users (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, and/or user 106C) based on the
users' perspectives and/or the location of the corresponding
devices (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, and/or device 108C). For
instance, the size of a virtual content item can be different based
on a proximity of a user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, and/or user
106C) and/or device (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, and/or device
108C) to the virtual content item. Additionally or alternatively,
the shape of the virtual content item can be different based on the
vantage point of a user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, and/or user
106C) and/or device (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, and/or device
108C). For instance, a virtual content item can have a first shape
when a user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, and/or user 106C) and/or
device (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, and/or device 108C) is
looking at the virtual content item straight on and can have a
second shape when a user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, and/or user
106C) and/or device (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, and/or device
108C) is looking at the virtual item from the side.
[0087] The devices 108 can include one or more processing unit(s)
(e.g., processor(s) 132), computer-readable media 134, at least
including a rendering module 136 and one or more applications 138.
The devices 108 can also include one or more sensors 140, which may
be able to sense any of a variety of physical parameters of a real
object, and portions thereof. For example, sensor(s) 140 may be
able to sense or detect color, texture (smoothness, roughness,
porous, etc.), hue, albedo, brightness, fluorescence,
transmissivity, reflectivity, size, volume, relative height, sound
intensity or frequency, heat, temperature, magnetic field, electric
field, gravitational field, radioactivity, resonance fields,
kinematic (e.g., velocity, acceleration, rotation, etc.) vectors
and/or magnitudes, just to name a few examples. For instance,
sensor 140 may be a gravitometer, a magnetometer, a radiometer, a
directional microphone, an optical thermometer (e.g. detects
infrared energy), and so on. In some instances, sensor 140 may be a
camera that can capture images at various times. Processor 112
and/or 132 may compare images of different times to determine
kinematic vectors. In some cases, processor 112 and/or 132 may
compare measurements (e.g., heat, magnetic field, color, volume,
and so on) captured by sensor(s) 140 at different times to
determine changes of parameters.
[0088] The one or more processing unit(s) (e.g., processor(s) 132)
can represent same units and/or perform same functions as
processor(s) 112, described above. Computer-readable media 134 can
represent computer-readable media 114 as described above.
Computer-readable media 134 can include components that facilitate
interaction between the service provider 102 and the one or more
devices 108. The components can represent pieces of code executing
on a computing device, as described above. Computer-readable media
134 can include at least a rendering module 136. The rendering
module 136 can receive content data from the service provider 102
and can render virtual content items on the display 204 of the
device (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, or device 108C). In at
least one example, the rendering module 136 can leverage a standard
graphics rendering pipeline for rendering virtual content on the
display 204. In some examples, the rendering module 136 can receive
previously rendered frames (e.g., associated with frame messages)
from the service provider 102 to correct for potential latency
and/or render correct perspectives based on the position of the
user (e.g., user 106A) in worldspace. In other examples, the
rendering module 136 may receive rendering data for rendering the
virtual content items locally. Application(s) 138 can correspond to
same applications as application(s) 130 or different
applications.
[0089] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a view
300 (e.g., a front view) of a mixed reality environment wherein a
user (e.g., user 106A) can interact with real content and virtual
content that is presented in the mixed reality environment. The
area depicted in the dashed lines corresponds to a real scene 302
in which the user is physically present. In some examples, another
user may be remotely located and can be virtually present in the
mixed reality environment (e.g., as an avatar, a reconstructed 3D
model that has been captured using various sensors and/or cameras
(e.g., KINECT.RTM. or TOF camera)). That is, the device (e.g.,
device 108A) corresponding to the user (e.g., user 106A) may
receive streaming data to render the remotely located user (e.g.,
user 106B) in the mixed reality environment presented by the device
(e.g., device 108A). The area depicted in the solid black line
corresponds to the spatial region 304 in which the mixed reality
environment is visible to the user via a display 204 of a
corresponding device (e.g., device 108A). As described above, in
some examples, the spatial region can occupy an area that is
substantially coextensive with a user's actual field of vision and
in other examples, the spatial region can occupy a lesser portion
of a user's actual field of vision. Additional users (e.g., user
106C, etc.) may be present but not visible in the spatial region
304.
[0090] In the example of FIG. 3, the user may be viewing various
virtual content items in the user's mixed reality environment via a
display 204 of his device (e.g., device 108A). As described below,
the user may have authenticated his device (e.g., device 108A).
Based at least in part on authenticating the user's device, the
rendering module 136 associated with the device may render the
various virtual content items on the display 204 corresponding to
the device. As a non-limiting example, the user may view a
graphical representation of a surface 306, which may be a real
object (e.g., picture frame), or may be a virtual object
superimposed onto a real surface, such as a wall 308.
[0091] In some examples, user 106A may virtually paint in the air
of spatial region 304. The user may create 3D representations 310
of trails of light, texture, and colors in the special region
without a need for post-production. In some examples, the user may
draw using the tip of their index finger. In such cases, the size
of the "paint brush" may be varied by adding more fingers. For
example, two fingers may make the thickness of the brush bigger
than for one finger, three fingers may make the thickness of the
brush bigger than for two fingers, and so on.
[0092] In some examples, the drawings need not be logically
structured, but instead may be a result of the "flow" of the user
(e.g., an artist or other such creative person). Accordingly,
painting or drawing results may vary among users.
[0093] In some examples, a user may air tap with an index finger
312 once to start drawing (e.g., to enter a drawing mode), and air
tap once more to stop drawing (e.g., to exit the drawing mode). The
drawing may follow the position of index finger 312. The user may
also paint with a whole hand 314 while touching a surface or while
in the air. Instead of drawing with hand gestures, a peripheral pen
or similar tool (not illustrated in FIG. 3) may be used to draw.
Such a tool or device may be passive, not having any kind of
electronics, and may include a reflective marker for tracking its
position, which may be used by HoloPaint to determine where to
place a drawn line or object, for example. In some cases, a camera,
such as on the HoloLens.RTM., may allow HoloPaint to perform image
recognition and to detect where the user is drawing. In some
examples, the peripheral pen or similar tool may have embedded
electronic that may allow for estimating a position by using an
accelerometer and gyroscope. In some examples, a user-wearable
sensor device (e.g., Microsoft Band.RTM.) may be used to track hand
position, rotation, and acceleration, and may provide biometric
data to allow for the drawings to change texture, color, and
shapes, based, at least in part, on the user's physical and
emotional state. Note, for example, that 3D representation 310
(e.g., a thick line) may have changing colors, thicknesses,
textures, and so on along its length.
[0094] In some examples, painters, photographers, and designers may
perform various artistic techniques using HoloPaint. In the case of
air painting, the aesthetical appearance may mimic the photographic
technique of light painting or light drawing, where the user can
create a painting with a source of light with a relatively long
exposure. 3D representations of various textures may be created in
real time using mixed reality. Transparencies and superposition of
textures on top of (e.g., overlaying) a physical space may be
achieved by moving index finger 312 around the 3D space. HoloPaint
may also allow for painting of surfaces like tables or other
furniture 316.
In some examples, any of a number of types of virtual brushes may
be used to paint or top draw. User 106A may use such brushes to
apply real or fictional textures, materials, and patterns. Each
brush may paint a unique 3D line (or area, such as a swath or wide
line) having a particular texture and shape. In some examples, a
brush may paint a corresponding metaphor that leaves a history
behind and reflects an expression or feeling of the user. Some
examples of virtual brushes include natural bristle brushes to
apply watercolor, chalkboard, acrylic paint, marker, pen, and so
on; special effects and animations brushes to perform light
painting, or to apply glow, sparkling materials, and animated
textures and particles; fantasy brushes to apply surreal effects
including randomized colors and textures with various lighting; and
material brushes for applying textures such as cloth and textiles,
sponge, and reflective materials for metals, just to name a few
examples. Additionally, colors, textures, hues, line thicknesses,
and so on may be individually selected or modified for brushes by
selecting or operating menu items or other user interface, for
example.
[0095] In some examples, a user may select an option for spray
painting. The user may spray on surfaces, objects, walls, etc.
Spatial mapping may be used to track the environment and determine
the color and size of the paint area as well as determine various
properties connected to the paint. For instance, user 106A may
create a spray paint representation 318, comprising trails of
light, texture, and colors on surface 306. In some examples, the
user may draw using the tip of their index finger or a spray paint
tool. In such cases, the size and other features of the spray paint
representation 318 may be varied based, at least in part, on
distance and orientation of the spray paint tool with respect to
the surface being painted, as described in detail below. In some
examples, the duration that the spray paint tool is held in a
particular direction at a surface may determine color density,
paint area or line width, and so on. For a particular example,
spray paint representation 318 includes a relatively wide region
320, where the spray paint tool may have been held for a relatively
long duration as compared to the time that the spray paint tool was
held over the remaining portions of spray paint representation
318.
[0096] 3D representation 310 is an example of a drawing produced in
air. In contrast, 3D representation 322 is an example of a drawing
produced on a surface 324. Such surfaces may be drawn upon using
the tip of an index finger. In such cases, the size of the "paint
brush" may be varied by adding more fingers. For example, two
fingers may make the thickness of the brush bigger than for one
finger, three fingers may make the thickness of the brush bigger
than for two fingers, and so on.
[0097] In some examples, using HoloPaint, a user may generate a
shape 326 by painting in the air. The shape may then be placed into
motion, such as a rotation depicted by arrow 328. For example, the
user may impart a spinning motion by brushing the user's hand
against the object in a generally tangential direction. Such a
drawing or 3D object may be resized using two hands as if it were a
multi-touch gesture. Similarly, a user may zoom in or zoom out in a
3D scenario to get closer or farther away from the object.
[0098] The holograms may be sculpted with hands, similarly to the
ZBRUSH.RTM. program or handcraft ceramics. The user can create
deformed objects and make them twirl and deform, for example. Air
painting lines may be deformed as if they were Bezier curves. If a
user paints in the air, tubular structures may be produced. Since
the objects may be in 3D, they could have functions that are
different from 2D paint. For instance, a user may introduce small
virtual balls that roll within the tubular objects, like pin balls
in 3D mazes, or virtual fluids that flow. Animations can be applied
as well in a time loop that auto-closes through interpolation so
that the repetition doesn't have a discontinuity.
[0099] In some examples, HoloPaint may allow for painting real
objects, such as spray painting or brush painting. A user may
subsequently be able to pick up and move the "shell" of the painted
objects. Such a shell may comprise the union of a
sprayed/splattered/painted object as if the real world object had
been a mold. This "shell" may comprise a 3D mesh of the real object
or surface, which may have been previously mapped using a spatial
mapping of HoloLens.
[0100] Splattering (or spraying or brushing) paint onto an object
may be part of a process of physical modeling of 3D painting, so
that a user can treat the object of the real world as a mold for
papier-mache, stalactites, and other sculptural experiences. This
process may include materials modeling so that virtual materials
drip, dry, mix, and so on (such as in a physical modeling paint
program Fresh Paint.RTM.).
[0101] In some examples, HoloPaint can save and recall 3D virtual
decoration of the space and later use the physical modeling by the
3D painting to create virtual miniatures of the virtual space. Such
virtual miniatures may be used as decoration, sculptures floating
in air, or may rest on surfaces of a table top, etc. In some cases,
HoloPaint may detect, quantify, or record how similar the original
room (in which the decoration was created) is to the room modified
by the virtual miniatures. Such detection may be performed, for
example, by comparing spatial mapping of the two rooms (e.g.,
before and after) and extracting the 3D meshes and vertices of each
room.
[0102] In some examples, HoloPaint may use any of a variety of
sensors to determine parameters of real objects (or portions
thereof) in a mixed environment. Parameters of real objects may be
stored in memory for future use. Parameters may include surface
parameters, such as color, texture (smoothness, roughness, porous,
etc.), hue, albedo (e.g., the "whiteness" of a surface or
reflection coefficient), brightness, and transmissivity, just to
name a few examples. Other parameters may be size, volume, relative
height, and so on. Still other parameters may include sound
intensity or frequency, heat, temperature, fluorescence, magnetic
field, electric field, gravitational field, radioactivity,
resonance fields, kinematic (e.g., velocity, acceleration,
rotation, etc.) vectors and/or magnitudes, just to name a few
examples. In some examples, analysis of captured images may be used
to determine some parameters, while analysis of sensor data may be
used to determine other parameters. In other examples, such
parameters of real objects in a scene may be sensed by various
types of sensors so that, for various resolutions, the temperature
of each of a plurality of portions of the objects may be measured
and recorded for subsequent processes or applications, as described
below.
[0103] The parameters of real objects may be applied by painting or
drawing, for example, to interactions in the mixed environment
between the real objects and virtual objects or actions. For
instance, real objects such as a red apple resting on a white table
may be virtually painted with a blue paint. Based on the colors of
the real objects, HoloPaint may display the blue paint on the red
apple as purple (blue plus red) and may display the blue paint on
the white table as blue (blue plus white). Thus, HoloPaint applied
the colors of the real objects to the result of virtually painting
the real objects.
[0104] In other examples, in addition to affecting applications of
colored paint, parameters of real materials may affect behavior of
other virtual materials being applied to real objects. For
instance, painting or spraying a virtual material onto a real
object having a relatively high albedo may result in the material
poorly sticking to the real object (e.g., at least a portion of the
material may fall off the object so that the material is applied
"thinly). In contrast, painting or spraying a virtual material onto
a real object having a relatively low albedo (and perhaps a
relatively high surface roughness) may result in the material
sticking well to the real object (e.g., the material may be applied
thickly). In other words, a measure of one or more parameters of a
real object may be used to affect the behavior of what is virtually
being applied to the real object. Paint on different portions of a
real object may behave differently, depending on surface
characteristics or parameters of the different portions (e.g., one
portion may be shiny so that paint or other virtually applied
substance may not stick to the portion, whereas another portion may
be porous or rough and paint may stick to that portion).
[0105] In some examples, HoloPaint may correlate current
measurements (e.g., parameters such as those mentioned above) of
the real world with past measurements. For example, HoloPaint may
compare a current color or temperature of a real apple with the
color or temperature of the apple measured a day earlier. In
another example, HoloPaint may compare details of a portion of a
real bookshelf (having books thereon) with details of the same
portion of the bookshelf at an earlier time (e.g., HoloPaint may
perform such comparison using image analysis of archived images,
etc.). In this latter case, such comparison may reveal that a book
was added or removed. Such comparison may be initiated by a
painting action performed by a user. For example, the user may
virtually spray paint the bookshelf. Instead of the virtual "paint"
coloring the bookshelf, HoloPaint may only display the "paint"
where differences between the present and the past exist. Thus, a
newly added book on the bookshelf may be colored while other
painted portions remain unaffected (uncolored or are not colored
the same, etc.). Of course, HoloPaint may invert this process so
that the newly added book on the bookshelf may not be colored while
other painted portions are colored. On the other hand, a book
recently removed from the bookshelf may result in a void that may
be colored while other painted portions remain unaffected
(uncolored or are not colored the same, etc.).
[0106] In other examples, HoloPaint may be used in warehouse
settings for inventory management. HoloPaint may compare physical
placement of current inventory items (e.g., placement, quantity,
etc.) with the physical placement of the inventory items at an
earlier time (e.g., HoloPaint may perform such comparison using
image analysis of archived images, etc. Such images may be
generated periodically or from time to time.). A user may virtually
spray paint a group or area of inventory items. Instead of the
virtual "paint" coloring the group or area of inventory items,
HoloPaint may only display the "paint" where differences between
the present and the past exist. Thus, any changes may be colored
while other painted portions remain unaffected (uncolored or are
not colored the same, etc.). An advantage of making such
comparisons for virtually spray painted portions of a large area
(e.g., a warehouse) is that computational loads are relatively
small for performing present/past comparisons of painted areas
(e.g., as needed by a user), whereas performing present/past
comparisons of an entire warehouse would have a relatively large
computational load.
[0107] In other examples, HoloPaint may compare colors, sounds,
temperature, magnetic field, velocity, or any other parameter of a
current real object with the same parameter of the real object at
an earlier time, as discussed in detail below. HoloPaint may allow
for a user to observe any differences in such comparison by
displaying one type of paint for the differences and another type
of paint for non-different portions of the real object, for
example.
[0108] FIG. 4 is a schematic view depicting a region of a mixed
reality environment 400 that includes a drawing/painting feature
402, according to some examples. In this example illustration,
using HoloPaint, a user is drawing on a virtual or real surface 404
by using an index finger 406 to sketch a palm tree. In some
implementations, HoloPaint may incorporate machine learning to
predict what a user is drawing. Such prediction may allow HoloPaint
to perform a number of functions. For example, HoloPaint may finish
a partially-drawn sketch. In the case illustrated in FIG. 4, as
soon as the user draws enough of the sketch of the palm tree,
HoloPaint may learn and predict that the user is sketching a palm
tree. Consequently, HoloPaint may automatically complete the sketch
without the user performing any other actions (e.g., the user need
not finish the sketch). In some alternative examples, HoloPaint may
automatically replace the partially-completed sketch with a full
drawing of a palm tree. In some cases, HoloPaint may temporarily
display several alternative sketches of a palm tree so that the
user may select a preferred one. In some implementations, HoloPaint
may convert a 2D sketch, such as the example palm tree, into an
active and dynamic drawings (e.g., bring the drawing into an
"alive" state). For example, drawing/painting feature 402 may be
converted into a 3D animated object having various colors,
textures, patterns, lighting, shadowing, and so on.
[0109] FIG. 5 includes a schematic side view depicting of a surface
500 in a mixed reality environment 502 involved in several
processes of spray painting, according to some examples. Such
processes may be implemented using HoloPaint, for example. In the
right portion of the figure, front views of areas sprayed onto
surface 500 are illustrated. Surface 500 may be a virtual or a real
surface in a mixed reality environment. Surface 500 may be flat,
curved, or may have any of a number of shapes, seams, corners, and
so on.
In some particular examples, to activate a spray action, a user may
hold a pinch gesture, such as that used in graffiti-style painting.
HoloPaint may mimic the way air brushes work. The distance between
a spray can (e.g., or other tool, brush, or index finger) and
surface 500 may determine the size of the sprayed paint and its
proportion to the size of the spray can. A cursor to indicate where
on surface 500 paint may be sprayed may follow the position of the
spray can or user's hand.
[0110] In the figure, an index finger 504 of a user's hand 506 is
illustrated as emitting a virtual spray of paint onto surface 500.
In other examples, the user may hold a virtual spray tool (e.g., a
spray can, a pointer, etc.). Claimed subject matter is not limited
to any particular object used for spraying. In case I, the user's
index finger 504 is a distance D1 from surface 500. In case II, the
user's index finger 504 is a distance D2 from surface 500. In the
case where the divergence of the spray is the same for cases I and
II, a greater area 508 may be covered by spray in case II as
compared to the spray area 510 of case I, which has a smaller
distance. Though the area 508 is greater than the area 510, spray
paint density of area 508 may be less than that of area 510.
Different densities may appear as different color hues, and may
depend, at least partially, on the original color of surface 500.
For example, if surface 500 is white, then a greater paint density
corresponds to a darker color. Spray paint density may also be
determined by length of time that spray paint is emitted onto
surface 500. In some examples for which paint corresponds to a
physical attribute, density of the paint applied to a service may
be proportional to an intensity or strength of the physical
attribute. For instance, if the physical attribute is heat, then a
greater density of paint (which corresponds to heat) on a surface
has a greater heat value.
[0111] In some examples, HoloPaint may use spatial mapping to track
the mixed reality environment to maintain color and size of paint
as well as to maintain different properties associated with the
paint with respect to particular positions or location in the
environment. Such spatial mapping may also be used to determine
distances (e.g., D1 and D2) and relative orientations of surface
500, index finger 504, and hand 506, for example.
[0112] In some examples, a user can splatter paint on different
surfaces by moving a hand with velocity (e.g., speed and
direction). The size of the resulting painting may be proportional
to the velocity. If the user is spraying paint with a relatively
high velocity, the painting may be relatively large with a
relatively large amount of paint. On the other hand, if the user is
spraying with subtle movements, the opacity of the resulting
painting may be relatively small with a relatively small amount of
paint. Real physics may be applied to the spray paint action. For
example, upon spray painting ceilings, sprayed paint may fall down
with gravity. Upon spray painting walls, sprayed paint may drip
down with gravity. Using spatial mapping, HoloPaint may detect the
angle of a painted surface with respect to gravity. Such an angle
may be used to generate animation of a painting that follows the
inclination angle of that surface. Similarly, the user may use any
of a number of types of tools, such as a "digital gun" to spray
paint. In some examples, HoloPaint may be used as a digital
Paintball game, where users may fire virtual paint balls at one
another.
[0113] In some examples, a user may control various features of
spray onto a surface by rotating a spray tool or the user's hand.
For instance, the user may hold hand 506 (or a tool) at an angle
with respect to surface 500. A resulting spray area 512 may be
elliptical, for example. Moreover, the user may rotate hand 506
while spraying surface 500 to control a directivity 514 of spray
area 512. Arrow 516 indicated that directivity 514 may be rotated
to various directions. Accordingly, various characteristics of a
spray area may depend, at least in part, on orientation of hand 506
or other spray tool.
[0114] FIG. 6 is a schematic view depicting a process of
determining distances in a mixed reality environment 600, according
to some examples. In some cases, such a distance may be used to
determine spray painting characteristics (e.g., spray paint
densities, etc.). HoloPaint may infer or heuristically estimate
some elements (e.g., estimate hand position relative to surface
500) of a geometry of a mixed reality environment. Any of a number
of sensors may be used to provide a head mounted mixed reality
display device (e.g., 200) with distance measurements in the
environment. Such measurements may be used, for example, to
determine an angle of a user's arm or hand with respect to a
surface, etc. For instance, by knowing where a user's hand and head
are in the environment, HoloPaint may infer the location and/or
orientation of the user's arm. Such information may be used for
spray painting operations.
[0115] In one technique, HoloPaint may consider a point 602 on a
surface 604 to be a central region for a spray painted area. Point
602 may be determined based, at least in part, on a determination
of which portion of surface 604 is most directly facing the eyes of
a user 606 wearing a head mounted mixed reality display device 608.
HoloPaint may then determine a first vector 610 from the user's
hand 612 to point 602, and a second vector 614 from the user's head
to point 602. In this fashion, HoloPaint may determine which part
of surface 604 is closest to user 606, within a cone defined by an
angle 616 of the user's gaze (e.g., which may be a predetermined
angle, such as about 30 degrees, or other value). Such an angle
leads to a potential spray area 618, for example. HoloPaint may
calculate a displacement vector 620 from vectors 610 and 616.
Displacement vector 620 may provide an offset distance from gaze to
the location of hand 612. Because, in this example, hand 612 is
used for spray painting (e.g., hand 612 is the source of virtual
spray paint that is sprayed onto surface 604), gaze of the user
need not determine an angle or direction of spray painting. Thus,
displacement vector 620 may allow HoloPaint to decouple spray paint
direction from gaze of the user.
[0116] FIG. 7 is a schematic view depicting a process of adapting a
property in a mixed reality environment 702 and applying the
property to a drawing/painting 704, according to some examples. In
various implementations. HoloPaint may use an internal RGB camera
and depth sensors of a head mounted mixed reality display device
(e.g., HOLOLENS.RTM.) to approximate properties of a material of
the selected surface in mixed reality environment 702. A user may
select any of a number of parameters, such as colors,
textures/images, surface contours, and so on, from the environment
and apply the parameters to drawing or painting actions via
brushes, fingers, or other tools.
[0117] In FIG. 7, a hand 706 of the user may hold a peripheral
device (real or virtual) 708 that can point to an object 710 (real
or virtual) and select one or more parameters of the object (or
particular portion thereof). In a particular example, object 710
may be a red plum. A parameter of object 710 may be a particular
color red. HoloPaint can record such parameters, which may
subsequently be applied, via a drawing or painting tool 712, to
drawing/painting 704. In this example, drawing/painting 704 may be
colored the same red as the color of object 710.
[0118] Either for spray painting, splattering, or painting in air,
characteristics of how tool 712 operate may depend, at least in
part, on a live data feed. For instance, one spray paint brush may
deposit a live video feed from an internet service like
Periscope.RTM.. In such a fashion, the user may paint any part of
environment 702 using live feeds (e.g., live volumetric feeds, or
whatever may become available in real-time).
[0119] FIG. 8 is a schematic view depicting arm-lock menus 800A and
800B (collectively referred to as "800") on wrists 802A and 802B
(collectively referred to as "802") of a user in a mixed reality
environment 804, according to some examples. HoloPaint may create
menus unobtrusively in mixed reality by using human augmentation.
For example, menus 800 may resemble virtual bracelets around the
wrist or forearm 802 of the user. The menu selection may be
designed to take advantage of a relatively narrow field of view
provided by Hololens, for example. Such arm-lock menus in the form
of bracelets tend to be unobtrusive so that, while drawing for
example, the user need not be bothered by the menus, which are in a
peripheral view of the user. Therefore, if the user is focused on
the index finger position of the user's hand 806A and 806B
(collectively referred to as "806"), the user need not be
distracted by the menu bracelet. Nevertheless, the user still has
the advantage of looking slightly downward to have full view of the
arm-lock menus.
[0120] In some examples, the arm-lock menus may be used by voice
commands so that the user's hands need not be disturbed while
drawing or painting. For example, if the user has an air paint
option selected and the brush selected is "watercolor," while the
user is already drawing, the user can say "light" and the brush may
change to a light painting one.
[0121] The approximate positions of the arm-lock menus (e.g.,
bracelet) may be estimated from respective locations of the center
of the hands 806. In some examples, menus 800 may constantly face
(e.g., "billboard") the camera of the user's headset. Such
"billboarding" may be used to provide menu items 808 of menus 800
with 2D textures that can appear to have depth or can appear as a
3D illusion because of the generally circular shape of menus 800.
In some particular examples, menu items 808 may appear to be
orbiting (spinning) on menus 800 around wrists 802. Such an effect
may be aesthetic and need not provide any particular function. In
any case, such orbiting may cease upon or after an indication that
the user desires to use the menus, such as by moving one hand near
one of the menus, or by a voice command.
[0122] Menu items 808 may include buttons, dials, slide bars, etc.
Menu items 808 may be used for any of a number of drawing/painting
functions or other functions associated with operating in
environment 804. Selection of control of a menu item on menu 800A,
for example, may be performed by using a finger of hand 806B for
tapping, sliding, etc. In one example, after a menu item is tapped,
the menu item may expand to a larger size for greater visual
resolution. This may be useful for selecting among a number of
colors of a color palette, for example.
[0123] In some examples, HoloPaint may allow for two hand gesture
interaction. The vector distance between the left and right hands
may be used to resize 3D content such as air paintings or 3D
objects. Similarly, a user may use the same type of gesture to zoom
in or zoom out in a 3D scenario to get closer or far away from an
object. In some examples, the distance between the user's dominant
hand and the other hand may be used to determine a power to be
applied to a virtual effect, such as shooting an arrow or slingshot
to project or apply paint onto a surface (e.g., such as a surface
of a person during a virtual paintball game).
[0124] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a view
900 of a mixed reality environment 902 wherein two or more users
can interact with one another and/or with virtual content that is
presented in the mixed reality environment. HoloPaint may be used
for shared experiences in the same or remote spaces, augmenting the
remote's person environment or their bodies, spray painting a mural
collaboratively, or air painting with multiple people, just to name
a few examples. HoloPaint may allow for decorating another person's
head with spray paint, for example. HoloPaint objects (e.g.,
persons) may be augmented with virtual objects or drawings (e.g.,
painting a person's face, placing horns on their head, and so on)
or decorating people's whole bodies, whenever their bodies come to
be measured in a mixed reality setup. HoloLens may add random
digital content or funny things like the plugins GOOGLE
HANGOUTS.RTM. to overlay content on top of someone's faces.
[0125] The area depicted in the dashed lines in FIG. 9 corresponds
to a real scene in which the first user 108A and a second user 108B
are physically present. In some examples, first user 108A or second
user 108B may be remotely located and can be virtually present in
the mixed reality environment (e.g., as an avatar, a reconstructed
3D model that has been captured using various sensors and/or
cameras (e.g., KINECT.RTM. or TOF camera)). That is, device 106A
corresponding to user 108A may receive streaming data to render the
remotely located user 108B in the mixed reality environment
presented by the device 106A. The area depicted in the solid black
line corresponds to the spatial region 904 in which the mixed
reality environment is visible to user 108A via a display 204 of
corresponding device 106A. As described above, in some examples,
the spatial region can occupy an area that is substantially
coextensive with a user's actual field of vision and in other
examples, the spatial region can occupy a lesser portion of a
user's actual field of vision. Additional users (e.g., user 106C,
etc.) may be present but not visible in the spatial region 904.
[0126] In the example of FIG. 9, user 108A may be viewing various
virtual content items in the user's mixed reality environment via a
display 204 of device 106A. As described below, the user may have
authenticated his device. Based at least in part on authenticating
his device, the rendering module 136 associated with his device can
render the various virtual content items on the display 204
corresponding to his device.
[0127] In some examples, user 108A may virtually paint on user
108B. The user may create 3D representations 906 of trails of
light, texture, and colors on user 108B. In some examples, the user
may draw using the tip of their index finger. In such cases, the
size of the "paint brush" may be varied by adding more fingers. For
example, two fingers may make the thickness of the brush bigger
than for one finger, three fingers may make the thickness of the
brush bigger than for two fingers, and so on.
[0128] In some examples, a masking function (e.g., selectable from
an arm-lock menu) may be used to "paint" objects, including user
108B, with a virtual masking material. Subsequently, any surface or
object (or portion thereof) previously painted with such masking
material may not be painted or marked upon.
[0129] Spatial region 904 includes a set of books 908 on a shelf
910 in region 912. Spatial region 904 also includes a region 914 of
floor 916 in the scene. In some examples, user 108A may virtually
paint the set of books 908 or a portion of floor 916, such as
portion 914. The user may create 3D representations 918 of trails
of light, texture, and colors on the set of books 908 or floor 916.
For example, 918 may be a thin or thick line, brush stroke, spray
painted region, and so on. In some examples, the user may draw
using the tip of their index finger. Such a 3D representation may
be used as a tool to analyze characteristics, and the history of
such characteristics, of objects in a scene, as described
below.
[0130] FIG. 10 illustrates a first instance 1002 of the set of
books 908 on shelf 910 and a second instance 1004 of the set of
books 908 on shelf 910. Thus, for example, a comparison of
instances 1002 and 1004 may be used to determine changes among the
set of books 908. In other words, HoloPaint may compare details of
region 912 (a portion of shelf 910 having the set of books 908
thereon) with details of the same region 912 at an earlier time
(e.g., HoloPaint may perform such comparison using image analysis
of archived images, etc.). Such comparison may reveal that a book
1006 was added or a book 1008 was removed in the time span between
first instance 1002 and second instance 1004. A user may select a
particular time as first instance 1002. Data, such as image data or
other parameters or attributes, of the first instance may have been
measured at the first instance and subsequently stored in memory.
Generally, second instance 1004 is the present time. Such
comparison may be initiated by a painting action performed by a
user. For example, the user may virtually spray paint or draw a 3D
representation, such as 918, which may be a line (e.g., of any
thickness), across the set of books 908. Instead of the virtual
"paint" coloring the books, HoloPaint may only display the "paint"
where differences between the present and the past exist, as
described below. In some implementations, "user" need not be human
and instead may be a processor performing these processes.
[0131] FIG. 11 illustrates displayed output 1100 that shows a
comparison of the set of books 908 at first instance 1002 and at
second instance 1004, according to some examples. In other words,
such displayed output indicates books that are added to the set of
books 908 and books that are removed from the set of books 908.
Thus, for example, a newly added book on shelf 910 may be colored
while other painted portions remain unaffected (uncolored or are
not colored the same, etc.). Of course, HoloPaint may invert this
process so that the newly added book on shelf 910 may not be
colored while other painted portions are colored. On the other
hand, a book recently removed from the bookshelf may result in a
void that may be colored while other painted portions remain
unaffected (uncolored or are not colored the same, etc.).
[0132] In one implementation, subsequent to a user drawing 3D
representation 918 (in second instance 1004), a color, texture,
and/or shading may cover added book 1006 and may cover removed book
1008 to show changes to the set of books 908. Such color, texture,
and/or shading may cover the portions of these added/removed books
within the outline of 3D representation 918. Thus, for example,
color, texture, and/or shading may cover portion 1102 of added book
1006 within the outline 1104 of 3D representation 918. Also, color,
texture, and/or shading may cover portion 1106 of removed book 1008
within the outline 1104 of 3D representation 918. In other
implementations, the opposite may be the case, where color,
texture, and/or shading may cover all but portions of added or
removed books within the outline 1104. Claimed subject matter is
not limited in this respect.
[0133] In some examples, the user may have been most interested in
the books on the shelf in region 912, and thus virtually painted
only a portion of this region (e.g., by drawing 3D representation
918). By limiting the part of the shelf to be analyzed,
computational effort may be relatively small, such as compared to
analyzing all the books on the entire shelf.
[0134] In some implementations, a user may select which parameter
or attribute to analyze by selecting a particular type of paint,
such as for drawing a 3D representation (e.g., 918). For example,
referring to FIG. 9, if 3D representation 918 is virtually painted
with a first "color" or paint, then the parameter may be missing
objects. On the other hand, if 3D representation 918 is virtually
painted with a second "color" or paint, then the parameter may be
added objects. By painting with yet another color, the parameter
may be both added objects and missing objects, and so on. In some
implementations, parameters may be combined or compounded. Thus,
for example, by painting with yet another color, a combination of
the parameters may be "missing books" plus "books thicker than two
inches." In this example, comparing instances may be limited to
detecting missing books that are thicker than two inches. Other
missing books may be ignored.
[0135] FIG. 12 illustrates a mapping or distribution of a parameter
in a first instance 1202 of region 914 and in a second instance
1204, according to some examples. A mapping of a parameter over an
object may be useful because values of the parameter are generally
different for different parts of the object. As mentioned above,
user 108A may virtually paint portion of floor 916, such as portion
914 to create 3D representations, which may be performed, for
example, by spraying virtual spray paint onto a region 914 of floor
916. The user may want to analyze a particular aspect of that
portion of floor 916 by comparing one or more parameters at two
different times. In the illustrated example, a parameter may be the
texture of carpet on floor 916. The texture may be quantified as an
optical property (e.g., reflectivity, hue, color, shading, etc.) of
the carpet, for example. In first instance 1202, the carpet in
portion 914 has various patterns 1206-1210 of differing textures.
For example, pattern 1206 may be one set of footprints (e.g., which
press into the carpet and change the texture), pattern 1208 may be
a single footprint, and pattern 1210 may an arbitrary change of
texture. In second instance 1204, the carpet in portion 914 has
added texture patterns in different parts of portion 914. For
example, a series of footprints 1212 have a texture that is
different from other parts of portion 914 or have a texture and/or
pattern that is distinguishable from patterns 1206-1208
(illustrated as dashes in second instance 1204) that originated at
or before first instance 1202. A comparison between the texture
parameter in first and second instances thus indicates footprints
1212 added since the first instance. Similar comparisons may be
performed for any of a number of parameters, such as fluorescence,
heat, temperature, and so on.
[0136] In some examples, the user may have been most interested in
portion 914 of floor 916, and thus virtually painted only portion
914. By limiting a size of portion 914, computational effort may be
relatively small, such as compared to analyzing an entire scene of
mixed reality.
[0137] Though the example described for FIG. 12 involves texture, a
processor may perform similar processes for other parameters. For
example, instead of such a process involving texture of a carpet,
the process may involve radiation in a space near a nuclear power
plant, gravitational constants superimposed onto mappings of the
earth for geological analysis, thermal signatures of buildings to
analyze effects of different building components on heat loss,
velocity vectors of water flow of a river below a dam to analyze
erosion for different spill rates of the dam, fluorescence mapping
of a crime scene, and so on. In other words, any physical parameter
may be applied to the processes described above.
[0138] In some implementations, a user may select which parameter
to analyze by selecting a particular type of paint, such as for
drawing a 3D representation (e.g., 918). For example, referring to
FIG. 9, if region 914 is virtually painted with a first "color" or
paint, then the parameter may be texture, as in the example
described above. On the other hand, if region 914 is virtually
painted with a second "color" or paint, then the parameter may be
heat. By painting with yet another color, the parameter may be
fluorescence, and so on. In some implementations, parameters may be
combined or compounded. Thus, for example, by painting with yet
another color, a combination of the parameters may be fluorescence
plus temperature, and so on.
[0139] The processes described in FIGS. 13-15 below are illustrated
as a collection of blocks in a logical flow graph, which represent
a sequence of operations that can be implemented in hardware,
software, or a combination thereof. In the context of software, the
blocks represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or
more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or
more processors, perform the recited operations. Generally,
computer-executable instructions include routines, programs,
objects, components, data structures, and the like that perform
particular functions or implement particular abstract data types.
The order in which the operations are described is not intended to
be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described
blocks can be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement
the processes. The example processes are described in the context
of the environment 100 of FIG. 1 but are not limited to that
environment.
[0140] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process 1300 for applying virtual paint onto an object to display
changes of a physical attribute or parameter of the object from one
time to a subsequent time, as presented in a mixed reality
environment. In some examples, process 1300 may be performed by a
processor, such as processor(s) 112 or processor(s) 132. At block
1302, the processor may receive a first set of values for a
physical attribute of an object measured at a first time. For
example, the first set of values may be provided by electronic
memory, such as computer-readable media 114 and/or 134, as
illustrated in FIG. 1. The object may be a virtual object or a real
object. The physical attribute may be color, texture (smoothness,
roughness, porous, etc.), hue, albedo, brightness, fluorescence,
transmissivity, reflectivity, size, volume, relative height, sound
intensity or frequency, heat, temperature, magnetic field, electric
field, gravitational field, radioactivity, resonance fields,
kinematic (e.g., velocity, acceleration, rotation, etc.) vectors
and/or magnitudes, just to name a few examples.
[0141] At block 1304, the processor may receive instructions to
virtually paint a portion of the object in the mixed reality
environment. The type of paint may any of a number of paints having
color, brightness, albedo, or hue, for example. At block 1306, the
processor may determine or measure, using any of a number of types
of sensors or detectors, for example, a second set of values for
the physical attribute of the portion of the object at a second
time in the mixed reality environment. In other words, the portion
to be measured is set forth by the instructions received in block
1304. For example, a user may want to have the physical attribute
of a particular portion of an object measured. The user may
therefore virtually paint that particular portion of the
object.
[0142] At block 1308, the processor may compare the second set of
values to the first set of values. In some situations, the first
set of values and the second set of values for the physical
attribute comprise respective mappings of the physical parameter
over at least a portion of the object. At block 1310, the processor
may determine a type of paint to apply onto the object, wherein the
determining is based, at least in part, on the instructions and the
comparing. The processor may also determine a placement location of
the paint, wherein the determining is based, at least in part, on
the instructions. By applying the virtual paint onto the object in
this fashion, changes of a physical attribute or parameter of the
object from one time to a subsequent time may be displayed in a
mixed reality environment.
[0143] FIG. 14 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process 1400 for managing inventory in a mixed reality environment.
For example, process 1400 may be used for determining if a set of
books on a shelf have been altered (e.g., books added and/or books
removed, sequential positioning of the books altered, and so on)
during a time span. In some examples, process 1400 may be performed
by a processor, such as processor(s) 112 or processor(s) 132. At
block 1402, the processor may receive stored inventory data for a
set of objects in a first state. The objects may be virtual objects
or real objects. At block 1404, the processor may virtually paint
at least a portion of the set of objects in a second state in a
mixed reality environment. Generally, the set of objects in the
first state comprises a first number of the objects and the set of
objects in the second state comprises a second number of the
objects. The second number may be different from the first number.
In such a case, one or more of the objects may be added or removed
during a time span from the first state to the second state.
[0144] At block 1406, the processor may measure current inventory
data for the virtually painted portion of the set of objects in the
second state. In some examples, the stored inventory data and the
current inventory comprise a location and number of individual
objects of the set of objects in the first state and the second
state, respectively. In some examples, the stored inventory data
comprises an image captured at a time when the set of objects is in
the first state.
[0145] At block 1408, the processor may compare the current
inventory data to the stored inventory data. At block 1410, the
processor may determine the change in inventory for the set of
objects in the second state relative to the set of objects in the
first state. The determining may be based, at least in part, on the
comparing. In some examples, virtually painting at least a portion
of the set of objects in the second state comprises drawing a
virtual line across the at least the portion of the set of objects
in the second state. A user, for example, may draw such a line. In
some examples, the processor may further apply virtual paint to
portions of the set of objects in the second state that are
different from corresponding portions of the set of objects in the
first state to distinguish from portions of the set of objects in
the second state that are the same as corresponding portions of the
set of objects in the first state. On the other hand, the processor
may instead apply virtual paint to portions of the set of objects
in the second state that are the same as corresponding portions of
the set of objects in the first state to distinguish from portions
of the set of objects in the second state that are different from
corresponding portions of the set of objects in the first
state.
[0146] FIG. 15 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process 1500 for applying virtual paint onto an object to display
changes of a physical parameter of the object from one time to a
subsequent time, as presented in a mixed reality environment. In
some examples, process 1500 may be performed by a processor, such
as processor(s) 112 or processor(s) 132. At block 1502, the
processor may determine differences between a first map of a
physical parameter of an object and a second map of the physical
parameter, which may be a kinematic or other attribute, of the
object. At block 1504, the processor may virtually paint a
particular region of the object. The location of the particular
region may be based, at least in part, on the determined
differences. In some examples, the first map of the physical
parameter of the object comprises values of the physical parameter
at a first time and the second map of the physical parameter of the
object comprises values of the physical parameter at a second time.
In some examples, the physical attribute is a compound physical
attribute comprising two or more parameters of the object. Thus, as
in an example described above regarding inventory of books, a
combination of physical attributes may be "missing books" plus
"books thicker than two inches."
Device/Server: Example Architecture and Processes
[0147] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing an example
environment 2200 for enabling two or more users (e.g., user 106A,
user 106B, and/or user 106C) in a mixed reality environment to
interact with one another and/or with virtual content that is
presented in the mixed reality environment. In the example
illustrated in FIG. 16, a first device (e.g., device 108A) is
assigned a server role and is responsible for synchronizing
communications and/or virtual content rendering among all of the
devices (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, and/or device 108C). In at
least one example, devices (e.g., device 108B and/or device 108C)
can run an application 138 locally and connect to the serving
device (e.g., device 108A). In FIG. 16, the input module 116,
content database 118, content management module 120, and
positioning module 124 can be associated with computer-readable
media 134 instead of, or in addition to, computer-readable media
114 associated with the service provider 102.
[0148] FIG. 16 illustrates a second device (e.g., device 108B)
sending authentication data to the first device (e.g., device
108A). The authentication data can correspond to a user
identification and password associated with the second user (e.g.,
user 106B), biometric identification associated with the second
user (e.g., user 106B), etc. The authentication data can be
utilized to determine a presence of the second device (e.g., device
108B), visual content items that are available to the second user
(e.g., user 106B), and the second user's (e.g., user 106B)
permissions corresponding to whether the second user (e.g., user
106B) can view and/or interact with individual ones of the virtual
content items, as described above.
[0149] Based at least in part on receiving the authentication data,
the content management module 120 and/or the frame rendering module
122 can access content data from the content database 118. As
described above, data associated with the individual virtual
content items can be stored in the content database 118. The
content data may identify an owner of a virtual content item, an
identification of the virtual content item, and permissions
associated with the virtual content item. The content data can
identify virtual content items that are owned by a profile
corresponding to the second user (e.g., user 106B), virtual content
items that the second user (e.g., user 106B) has open, and/or
content that other users (e.g., user 106A and/or user 106C) have
shared with the second user (e.g., user 106B). The content
management module 120 and/or the positioning module 124 can utilize
the content data to determine whether individual virtual content
items can be rendered on various devices (e.g., device 108A and/or
device 108C) and/or the permissions associated with each of the
individual virtual content items. The content management module 120
and/or the positioning module 124 can send rendering data to the
second device (e.g., device 108B) and the second device (e.g.,
device 108B) can render the corresponding virtual content items in
the mixed reality environment associated with the second user
(e.g., user 106B). As described above, the second user (e.g., user
106B) can modify the permissions (e.g., visibility, interactivity,
etc.) of any of the virtual content items that he or she owns. That
is, the second user (e.g., user 106B) can share the virtual content
items with other users (e.g., user 106A and/or user 106C). However,
the second user (e.g., user 106B) cannot modify the permissions of
any of the virtual content items that he or she does not own. The
second user (e.g., user 106B) can interact with individual virtual
content items until the owner of each of the virtual content items
makes a virtual content item private such that the second user
(e.g., user 106B) cannot view the virtual content item.
[0150] The processes described in FIGS. 17 and 18 below are
illustrated as a collection of blocks in a logical flow graph,
which represent a sequence of operations that can be implemented in
hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In the context of
software, the blocks represent computer-executable instructions
stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when
executed by one or more processors, perform the recited operations.
Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines,
programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like that
perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data
types. The order in which the operations are described is not
intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the
described blocks can be combined in any order and/or in parallel to
implement the processes. The example processes are described in the
context of the environment 1600 of FIG. 16 but are not limited to
that environment.
[0151] FIG. 17 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process 1700 to cause virtual content to be presented in the mixed
reality environment.
[0152] Block 1702 illustrates accessing, receiving, and/or
determining authentication information from a device (e.g., device
108B). As illustrated in FIG. 16, a second device (e.g., device
108B) can send authentication data to a first device (e.g., device
108A) that can be designated as a server. The authentication data
can correspond to a user identification and password associated
with the second user (e.g., user 106B), biometric identification
associated with the second user (e.g., user 106B), etc. The
authentication data can be utilized to determine a presence of the
second device (e.g., device 108B), visual content items that are
available to the second user (e.g., user 106B), and the second
user's (e.g., user 106B) permissions corresponding to whether the
second user (e.g., user 106B) can view and/or interact with the
virtual content items, as described above.
[0153] Block 1704 illustrates accessing content data. Based at
least in part on receiving the authentication data, content
management module 120 and/or positioning module 124 can access
content data from the content database 118. As described above, the
content database 118 can include content data indicating an owner
identification, a content identification, and permissions
associated with the individual virtual content items. The content
data can identify virtual content items that are owned by a profile
corresponding to the second user (e.g., user 106B) and/or content
that other users (e.g., user 106A and/or user 106C) have shared
with the second user (e.g., user 106B).
[0154] Block 1706 illustrates sending rendering data to the device
(e.g., device 108B). The content management module 120 and/or
positioning module 124 can send the rendering data to the second
device (e.g., device 108B). As described above, rendering data may
include instructions for rendering a graphical representation of a
virtual content item via a display of a device (e.g., device 108A).
For instance, the rendering data may include instructions
describing the geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, shading,
etc. associated with a virtual content item.
[0155] Block 1708 illustrates causing virtual content to be
rendered via the device (e.g., device 108B). The second device
(e.g., device 108B) can leverage the rendering data to render
virtual content items in the mixed reality environment associated
with the second user (e.g., user 106B) via the rendering module 136
associated with the second device (e.g., device 108B). As described
above, the second user (e.g., user 106B) can modify the permissions
(e.g., visibility, interactivity, etc.) of any of the virtual
content items that he or she owns. That is, the second user (e.g.,
user 106B) can determine who he or she desires to share the virtual
content items with and/or permissions the other users (e.g., user
106A and/or user 106C) have with respect to interacting with the
virtual content items. However, the second user (e.g., user 106B)
cannot modify the permissions of any of the virtual content items
that he or she does not own. The second user (e.g., user 106B) can
interact with individual virtual content items until the owner of
each of the virtual content items makes a virtual content item
private such that the second user (e.g., user 106B) cannot view the
virtual content item.
[0156] FIG. 18 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process 1800 to cause virtual content to be presented in the mixed
reality environment in different modes (e.g., presenter mode or
sharing mode).
[0157] Block 1802 illustrates causing virtual content to be
rendered via a device (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, and/or
device 108C). As described above, the rendering module 136
associated with the device (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, and/or
device 108C) can render virtual content items corresponding to the
rendering data in the mixed reality environment associated with the
user (e.g., user 106A, user 106B, and/or user 106C).
[0158] Block 1804 illustrates determining a mode for presenting the
virtual content. In some examples, the content management module
120 can determine whether a user (e.g., user 106A) desires to
present the virtual content in a sharing mode, whereby other users
(e.g., user 106B and/or user 106C) can view virtual content items
that the user (e.g., user 106A) shared with them via an enhanced
user interface such that the virtual content items augment the real
scene where the other users (e.g., user 106B and/or user 106C) are
physically located within the spatial region, or a presentation
mode. The presentation mode can enable the user (e.g., user 106A)
to share all of the virtual content that the user (e.g., user 106A)
has open (i.e., is visible on the user's (e.g., user 106A) display
204) with the other users (e.g., user 106B and/or user 106C). In
such an example, the user (e.g., user 106A) can share menus, wands,
virtual content items, etc. That is, the presentation mode can
enable the user (e.g., user 106A) to share all of the content he or
she has open with all of the other users (e.g., user 106B and/or
user 106C) (i.e., make all virtual content items public) and share
menus that the user (e.g., user 106A) generally can see in his or
her first person view.
[0159] Block 1806 illustrates causing the virtual content to be
presented in sharing mode. As described above, the owner of a
virtual content item can determine who he or she wants to share the
virtual content item with. In at least one example, the owner of
the virtual content item can interact with a virtual menu presented
to the user (e.g., user 106B) in the mixed reality environment. As
described above, the virtual menu can include graphical
representations of sharing settings, such as, but not limited to,
private, public, etc. The virtual menu can be a drop down menu, a
radial menu, etc. The virtual menu can provide the user (e.g., user
106B) with controls for indicating whether the user (e.g., user
106B) desires to make the virtual content item private or public,
as described above. If the user (e.g., user 106B) desires to keep
the virtual content item private, no other users (e.g., user 106A
and/or user 106C) can see the virtual content item. If the user
(e.g., user 106B) desires to make the virtual content item public,
all of the other users (e.g., user 106A and/or user 106C) can see
the virtual content item. In some examples, the user (e.g., user
106B) can specify one or more users (i.e., less than all users)
with whom he or she desires to share the virtual content item. This
permissions data can be provided to the content database 118 for
storing with the content data. Accordingly, based at least in part
on accessing, receiving, and/or determining authentication data,
the content management module 120 and/or the positioning module 124
can access content data including permissions data indicating which
users 106 have permission to view and/or interact with individual
content data items. The other devices (e.g., device 108A and/or
device 108C) can render virtual content items based at least in
part on receiving rendering data from the content management module
120 and/or the positioning module 124. The other users (e.g., user
106A and/or user 106C) can view the rendered virtual content items
in their own first person perspective.
[0160] Block 1808 illustrates causing the virtual content to be
presented in presentation mode. In other examples, the content
management module 120 can determine that a user (e.g., user 106B)
desires to share his or her mixed reality environment with other
users (e.g., user 106A and/or user 106C) in a presenter mode.
Accordingly, the content management module 120 and/or the
positioning module 124 can send rendering data to devices
associated with the other users (e.g., device 108A and/or device
108C) such that the corresponding rendering modules 136 can render
virtual content consistent with the virtual content presented in
the user's (e.g., user 106B) mixed reality environment. The
presenter mode enables the user (e.g., user 106B) to show other
users (e.g., user 106A and/or user 106C) how to use an application
or give a demonstration of the system. Presenter mode is similar to
various desktop sharing functionalities. The other users (e.g.,
user 106A and/or user 106C) can see the user's (e.g., user 106B)
mixed reality environment from their own first person perspective.
In at least one example, the other users (e.g., user 106A and/or
user 106C) can see their private mixed reality environment in
addition to the mixed reality environment of the user (e.g., user
106B).
Service Provider/Server: Example Architecture and Processes
[0161] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing an example
environment 1900 for enabling two or more users (e.g., user 106A,
user 106B, and/or user 106C) in a mixed reality environment to
interact with one another and/or with virtual content that is
presented in the mixed reality environment. In FIG. 19, the service
provider 102 serves a server role and is responsible for
synchronizing communication and/or virtual content rendering by the
devices (e.g., device 108A, device 108B, and/or device 108C). The
devices (e.g., devices 108A, device 108B, and/or device 108C) can
run an application 138 locally and receive frame messages and/or
frames for presenting the virtual content.
[0162] FIG. 19 illustrates a device (e.g., device 108A) sending
authentication data to the service provider 102. The authentication
data can correspond to a user identification and password
associated with the user (e.g., user 106A), biometric
identification associated with the user (e.g., user 106A), etc. The
authentication data can be utilized to determine a presence of the
device (e.g., device 108A), visual content that is available to the
user (e.g., user 106A), and the user's (e.g., user 106A)
permissions corresponding to whether the user (e.g., user 106A) can
view and/or interact with the virtual content, as described
above.
[0163] Additionally, the device (e.g., device 108A) can send frame
request messages in real time, as described above. The frame
rendering module 122 can be configured to generate frame messages
responsive to the frame requests, as described above. The frame
rendering module 122 can send frame messages directly to devices
108.
[0164] Based at least in part on receiving the authentication data,
the content management module 120 and/or the positioning module 124
can access content data from the content database 118. As described
above, individual virtual content items can be associated with data
in the content database 118 indicating an owner identification, a
content identification, and permissions associated with the
individual virtual content items.
[0165] Unlike the example environment 1900, in this example, the
service provider 102 cannot simply send content data to the device
(e.g., device 108A) and the device (e.g., device 108A) cannot
simply render the virtual content in screen-space as the
presentation of the virtual content can be affected by noticeable
latency (e.g., movement of a user (e.g., user 106A) and/or device
(e.g., device 108A) that happened before a frame is rendered on the
device (e.g., device 108A)). Instead, in at least one example, the
rendering module 136, stored locally on the device (e.g., device
108A), can utilize the frame messages for rendering and/or
presenting the virtual content via the device (e.g., device 108A),
as described above.
[0166] The process described in FIG. 20 below is illustrated as a
collection of blocks in a logical flow graph, which represent a
sequence of operations that can be implemented in hardware,
software, or a combination thereof. In the context of software, the
blocks represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or
more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or
more processors, perform the recited operations. Generally,
computer-executable instructions include routines, programs,
objects, components, data structures, and the like that perform
particular functions or implement particular abstract data types.
The order in which the operations are described is not intended to
be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described
blocks can be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement
the processes. The example process is described in the context of
the environment 1900 of FIG. 19 but is not limited to that
environment.
[0167] FIG. 20 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process 2000 to cause virtual content to be presented in the mixed
reality environment.
[0168] Block 2002 illustrates accessing, receiving, and/or
determining authentication information from a device (e.g., device
108A). As illustrated in FIG. 16, the input module 116 can access,
receive, and/or determine authentication data from a device (e.g.,
device 108A). The authentication data can correspond to a user
identification and password associated with the user (e.g., user
106A), biometric identification associated with the user (e.g.,
user 106A), etc. The authentication data can be utilized to
determine a presence of a device (e.g., device 108A), visual
content that is available to the user (e.g., user 106A)
corresponding to the device (e.g., device 108A), and the user's
(e.g., user 106A) permissions corresponding to whether the user
(e.g., user 106A) can view and/or interact with the virtual
content, as described above.
[0169] Block 2004 illustrates receiving a frame request from the
device (e.g., device 108B). The frame rendering module 122 can
receive frame request messages from the device (e.g., device 108A),
as described above.
[0170] Block 2006 illustrates accessing content data. Based at
least in part on receiving the authentication data, the content
management module 120 and/or the positioning module 124 can access
content data from the content database 118. As described above,
content data can be stored in the content database 118 indicating
an owner identification, a content identification, and permissions
associated with the individual virtual content items. Block 2008
illustrates accessing frame messages. The frame rendering module
122 can be configured to output frame messages and send the frame
messages directly to devices 108, as described above.
[0171] Block 2010 illustrates sending rendering data and/or frame
messages to the device (e.g., device 108A). In some examples, the
rendering module 136 can receive previously rendered frames
associated with frame messages from the service provider 102 to
correct for potential latency and/or render correct perspectives
based on the position of the user (e.g., user 106A) in worldspace.
In other examples, the rendering module 136 may receive rendering
data for rendering the virtual content items locally.
[0172] Block 2012 illustrates causing virtual content to be
presented via the device (e.g., device 108A). The device (e.g.,
device 108A) can render virtual content items corresponding to
rendering data in the mixed reality environment associated with the
user (e.g., user 106A) via the rendering module 136 associated with
the device (e.g., device 108A). As described above, in some
instances, the service provider 102 may be unable to send rendering
data to the device (e.g., device 108A) and the device (e.g., device
108A) may be unable to render the virtual content in screen-space
as the presentation of the virtual content can be affected by
noticeable latency. Instead, in at least one example, the rendering
module 136, stored locally on the device (e.g., device 108A), can
leverage the frame messages to cause the virtual content items to
be presented via the device (e.g., device 108A), as described
above.
Modifying Visibility and Interacting with Virtual Content Items
[0173] FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing an example
environment 2100 for enabling two or more users (e.g., user 106A,
user 106B, and/or user 106C) in a mixed reality environment to
interact with one another and/or with virtual content that is
presented in the mixed reality environment. In the example
environment 2100, a server 2102 can send and receive data to one or
more client devices (e.g., client 2104, client 2106, and/or client
2108). The server 2102 can be the service provider 102 or a device
(e.g., device 108A). Each of the client devices (e.g., client 2104,
client 2106, and/or client 2108) can correspond to device 108A,
108B, and/or 108C. The one or more client devices (e.g., client
2104, client 2106, and/or client 2108) can send requests and
receive data associated with commands for rendering and/or
interacting with virtual content. The server 2102 can manage the
requests and commands to synchronize communication and/or virtual
content rendering between the one or more client devices (e.g.,
client 2104, client 2106, and/or client 2108) and to support
security, syncing of variables (e.g., state variables), managing
timing (e.g., animation timing, etc.), etc.
[0174] The processes described in FIGS. 22 and 23 below are
illustrated as a collection of blocks in a logical flow graph,
which represent a sequence of operations that can be implemented in
hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In the context of
software, the blocks represent computer-executable instructions
stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when
executed by one or more processors, perform the recited operations.
Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines,
programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like that
perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data
types. The order in which the operations are described is not
intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the
described blocks can be combined in any order and/or in parallel to
implement the processes. The example process is described in the
context of the environment 2100 of FIG. 21 but is not limited to
that environment.
[0175] FIG. 22 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process 2200 to cause the visibility of virtual content to be
modified in the mixed reality environment.
[0176] Block 2202 illustrates receiving, from a first client device
(e.g., client 2104), a request to share a virtual content item with
one or more other client devices (e.g., client 2106 and/or client
2108). In this example, the first client device (e.g., client 2104)
can be the owner of the virtual content item and can determine who
to share the virtual content item with and/or when to make the
virtual content item private.
[0177] Block 2204 illustrates sending a command to one or more
other client devices (e.g., client 2106 and/or client 2108). The
server 2102 can send the command to the one or more other client
devices (e.g., client 2106 and/or client 2108). The command can
include rendering data and, in some examples, frame messages for
rendering by the one or more other client devices (e.g., client
2106 and/or client 2108), as described above.
[0178] Block 2206 illustrates causing the virtual content item to
be presented via the one or more other client devices (e.g., client
2106 and/or client 2108). As described above, the rendering module
136 associated with the individual client devices (e.g., client
2106 and/or client 2108) can render the virtual content item in the
mixed reality environment. The users (e.g., user 106A and/or user
106B) corresponding to the one or more other client devices (e.g.,
client 2106 and/or client 2108) can interact with the virtual
content item as long as the first client device (e.g., client 2102)
continues to share the virtual content item with the one or more
other client devices (e.g., client 2106 and/or client 2108). In
some examples, the one or more client devices (e.g., client 2106
and/or client 2108) may receive previously rendered frames via
frame messages and may present the virtual content item based at
least in part on presenting the previously rendered frames.
[0179] The first client device (e.g., client 2104) can request to
make the virtual content item private via a process similar to
example process 2200. The first client device (e.g., client 2104)
can request to make a virtual content item private with respect to
one or more other client devices (e.g., client 2106 and/or client
2108). The server 2102 can send a command to one or more other
client devices (e.g., client 2106 and/or client 2108). The command
can include data indicating that the virtual content item is no
longer visible with respect to one or more of the other client
devices (e.g., client 2106 and/or client 2108), as described above.
Accordingly, the rendering module 136 associated with the
individual client devices (e.g., client 2106 and/or client 2108)
can terminate rendering the virtual content item in the mixed
reality environment.
In some examples, based at least in part on any one of the client
devices (e.g., client 2104, client 2106, and/or client 2108)
accessing a virtual content item, the server 2102 can send data
associated with a virtual content item to each of the other client
devices (e.g., client 2104, client 2106, and/or client 2108). The
data can instruct all of the client devices (e.g., client 2104,
client 2106, and/or client 2108) (i.e., the rendering module 136
associated with all of the client devices) to create and load the
virtual content item. However, the client devices (e.g., client
2104, client 2106, and/or client 2108) can hide the virtual content
item until the client devices (e.g., client 2104, client 2106,
and/or client 2108) receive data indicating that owner of the
virtual content item shared the virtual content item with the
client devices (e.g., client 2104, client 2106, and/or client
2108). The owner of the virtual content item can send a request to
share the virtual content item with one or more of the other client
devices (e.g., client 2104, client 2106, and/or client 2108) and
the server 2102 can send a command to the one or more client
devices (e.g., client 2104, client 2106, and/or client 2108) so
that the one or more client devices (e.g., client 2104, client
2106, and/or client 2108) can render the virtual content item. The
command may be associated with rendering data and/or frame
messages, as described above.
[0180] FIG. 23 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example
process 2300 to cause an interaction with a virtual content item to
be performed via one or more client devices (e.g., client 2104,
client 2106, and/or client 2108) in the mixed reality
environment.
[0181] Block 2302 illustrates receiving, from a first client device
(e.g., client 2104), a request to interact with a virtual content
item. For instance, the first client device (e.g., client 2104) can
desire to move the virtual content item, cause the virtual item to
rotate, etc. Block 2304 illustrates sending a command to all of the
client devices (e.g., client 2104, client 2106 and/or client 2108)
that have permission to view the virtual content item to perform
the interaction requested. The server 2102 can send the command to
the client devices (e.g., client 2104, client 2106, and/or client
2108) that have permission to view the virtual content item. The
command can include rendering data, data associated with the
interaction, and, in some examples, frame messages for rendering by
the client devices (e.g., client 2104, client 2106, and/or client
2108), as described above. Block 2306 illustrates causing the
interaction to be performed on the virtual content item via the
client devices (e.g., client 2104, client 2106, and/or client
2108). As described above, the rendering module 216 associated with
the individual client devices (e.g., client 2104, client 2106,
and/or client 2108) can render the virtual content item in the
mixed reality environment and can modify the virtual content item
based on the interaction requested. The users (e.g., user 106A,
user 106B, and/or user 106C) corresponding to the client devices
(e.g., client 2104, client 2106, and/or client 2108) can interact
with the virtual content item as long as the first client device
(e.g., client 2104) continues to share the virtual content item
with the one or more other client devices (e.g., client 2106 and/or
client 2108).
Example Clauses
[0182] A. A system comprising: a mixed reality display device
operable in a mixed reality environment; and a device
communicatively coupled to the mixed reality display device, the
device comprising: one or more processors; memory; and one or more
modules stored in the memory and executable by the one or more
processors to perform operations comprising: determining a location
of a portion of a user of the mixed reality display device relative
to the mixed reality environment; and selectively displaying or
hiding, via the display of the mixed reality display device, a
user-interface menu for controlling at least a portion of the mixed
reality environment, wherein the user-interface menu is locked to
the portion of the user based, at least in part, on the location of
the portion of the user relative to the mixed reality
environment.
[0183] B. The system as claim A recites, wherein the portion of the
user comprises an arm or wrist of the user.
[0184] C. The system as claim A recites, wherein the user-interface
menu includes selectable menu items for controlling painting or
drawing processes in the mixed reality environment.
[0185] D. The system as claim C recites, wherein the painting or
drawing processes in the mixed reality environment include virtual
spray painting.
[0186] E. The system as claim C recites, wherein the painting or
drawing processes in the mixed reality environment include
selecting a physical attribute visible in the mixed reality
environment and applying the physical attribute to the painting or
drawing processes.
[0187] F. The system as claim E recites, wherein the physical
attribute is a color or texture.
[0188] G. The system as claim A recites, wherein the portion of the
user comprises a first finger of a first hand of the user and a
second finger of a second hand of the user, and wherein the
user-interface menu is located on the arm or wrist of the second
hand of the user, the operations further comprising: determining a
distance between the first finger and a menu item of the
user-interface menu; comparing the distance with a threshold
distance value; and initiating a process corresponding to the menu
item based, at least in part, on the comparing.
[0189] H. The system as claim G recites, wherein the process
comprises a painting or drawing process in the mixed reality
environment.
[0190] I. A system comprising: a mixed reality display device
operable in a mixed reality environment; and a device
communicatively coupled to the mixed reality display device, the
device comprising: one or more processors; memory; and one or more
modules stored in the memory and executable by the one or more
processors to perform operations comprising: determining a distance
and orientation of an object relative to a surface in the mixed
reality environment; and applying virtual paint corresponding to a
physical attribute onto an area of the surface, wherein the area is
based, at least in part, on the distance and the orientation of the
object, and wherein a behavior of the painted area is based, at
least in part, on the physical attribute.
[0191] J. The system as claim I recites, wherein a density of the
painting is based, at least in part, on the distance.
[0192] K. The system as claim I recites, wherein the object is a
hand or portion of the hand of a user of the mixed reality display
device.
[0193] L. The system as claim I recites, wherein the object is a
spray tool or pointer held by a hand or portion of the hand of a
user of the mixed reality display device.
[0194] M. The system as claim L recites, wherein the user is a
first user, the operations further comprising: identifying a second
user in the mixed reality environment, wherein the surface in the
mixed reality environment is the second user.
[0195] N. A method comprising: selectively displaying or hiding,
via the display of a mixed reality display device, a user-interface
menu for controlling at least a portion of the mixed reality
environment, wherein the user-interface menu is locked to a portion
of a user; receiving painting commands from the user-interface
menu; and based at least in part on the painting commands, applying
a virtual paint corresponding to a physical attribute onto an area
of an object, wherein the physical attribute affects a behavior of
the object with respect to other objects.
[0196] O. The method as claim N recites, wherein a density of the
virtual paint applied to the area is based, at least in part, on a
distance between the area and a virtual paint brush that is
applying the paint.
[0197] P. The method as claim O recites, wherein the virtual paint
brush is a hand or portion of the hand of the user of the mixed
reality display device.
[0198] Q. The method as claim O recites, wherein the virtual paint
brush is a spray tool or pointer held by a hand or portion of the
hand of the user of the mixed reality display device.
[0199] R. The method as claim N recites, wherein a density of the
virtual paint applied to the area is proportional to a strength of
the physical attribute.
[0200] S. The method as claim N recites, wherein the user is a
first user, and further comprising: identifying a second user in
the mixed reality environment, wherein the object in the mixed
reality environment is the second user.
[0201] T. The method as claim N recites, wherein the physical
attribute is a first physical attribute, and further comprising:
virtually painting a second physical attribute onto the area of the
object to form a compound physical attribute for the object.
CONCLUSION
[0202] Although the subject matter has been described in language
specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is
to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended
claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts
described. Rather, the specific features and steps are disclosed as
example forms of implementing the claims.
Unless otherwise noted, all of the methods and processes described
above may be embodied in whole or in part by software code modules
executed by one or more general purpose computers or processors.
The code modules may be stored in any type of computer-readable
storage medium or other computer storage device. Some or all of the
methods may alternatively be implemented in whole or in part by
specialized computer hardware, such as FPGAs, ASICs, etc.
[0203] Conditional language such as, among others, "can," "could,"
"may" or "might," unless specifically stated otherwise, are
understood within the context to present that certain examples
include, while other examples do not include, certain features,
variables and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not
generally intended to imply that certain features, variables and/or
steps are in any way required for one or more examples or that one
or more examples necessarily include logic for deciding, with or
without user input or prompting, whether certain features,
variables and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any
particular example.
[0204] Conjunctive language such as the phrase "at least one of X,
Y or Z" unless specifically stated otherwise, is to be understood
to present that an item, term, etc. may be either X, Y, or Z, or a
combination thereof.
[0205] Any process descriptions, variables or blocks in the flow
diagrams described herein and/or depicted in the attached figures
should be understood as potentially representing modules, segments,
or portions of code that include one or more executable
instructions for implementing specific logical functions or
variables in the routine. Alternate implementations are included
within the scope of the examples described herein in which
variables or functions may be deleted, or executed out of order
from that shown or discussed, including substantially synchronously
or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved as
would be understood by those skilled in the art.
[0206] It should be emphasized that many variations and
modifications may be made to the above-described examples, the
variables of which are to be understood as being among other
acceptable examples. All such modifications and variations are
intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure
and protected by the following claims.
* * * * *